


The Rule Setter

by fratdadfan



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:54:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21984295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fratdadfan/pseuds/fratdadfan
Summary: Kelley is at peak chaotic fratboy energy entering her junior year of college at Stanford and is definitely not looking for love. Alex Morgan is a transfer from Berkeley just looking to win the College Cuporan enemies to lovers College AUorthe one where Kelley makes and breaks her own rules
Relationships: Alex Morgan/Kelley O'Hara
Comments: 38
Kudos: 419





	1. The Rule Setter

_July 4 th_

_365 days before_

Kelley has rules for herself.

After having her heart badly broken a few times within her first year of college, she decided that she was done with relationships for the time being. She was young after all, she’s allowed to have some fun, right? She could settle down when she was ready, but right now she just wanted to enjoy being young and independent. At times she slipped up here and there, however, heading into her junior year at Stanford, she was becoming pretty consistent in abiding by her self-made rules. Case in point:

_Rule #1: Always have a full roster_

This meant that at any time, Kelley had a list of girls she could call on in case she needed a date to a party or if she felt like a casual hookup. If she was honest, most of the time, it was for the latter. She enjoyed sex, she was good at it.

Speaking of such, presently, Kelley had one of her key players, Jamie, pressed against the wall of some frat boy’s bedroom, arms pinned above her head. Jamie was pretty enough. The whole blonde hair, blue eyes thing wasn’t really Kelley’s cup of tea, and her personality matched that of a wet sock, but she did have some exceptional moves in bed going for her. So for now, Kelley was content to continue on with the girl. Kelley pressed her body against Jamie, pushing her further against the wall. She leaned in to kiss the blonde’s neck, slowly dragging her teeth against exposed skin, earning her a soft hiss, when the door opened.

Without looking up, Kelley rolled her eyes and growled out authoritatively, “Occupied. Get out.”

With that, the door closed, the offender muttering what sounded like a half-hearted apology.

“Where were we…” Kelley smirked, the girl in her company only giggling in response.

\--

Half an hour later Kelley walked through the frat house, a smug smile on her face and a lukewarm cup of beer in her hand. Miller Lite. Not her favorite, but it will do.

“What’s up pong star?” Kelley says walking up to the beer pong table and slapping a hand on her friend Allie’s shoulder. 

“You look happy… do I dare ask if it was the girl you came here with?” Allie says as she looks at the freckled girl.

“Allie, who do you think you are talking to?” Kelley asks in mock-offense, “Of course not!” The girls laugh as Allie sinks a shot.

_Rule #2: Never catch feelings_

It wasn’t that Kelley was a _player,_ necessarily. These girls knew what they were getting into when they started talking to her. Kelley always told them from the beginning that she wasn’t really the relationship type, and she tried her best not to lead any girl on. She had no intentions of breaking anyone’s heart, she knew all too well what that pain felt like.

But she couldn’t help that her smile was infectious, or that her eyes sparkled when she flirted, or that her freckles were somehow adorable and hot at the same time.

She couldn’t help that she was so damn sincerely charming, and someone that others enjoyed being around, so if a few girls happened to fall for her along the way, it wasn’t _really_ her fault. She _had_ warned them that she wasn’t into dating anymore. She would settle down someday, but that day, she guessed, was far into the future. 

Before, Kelley had been the type to fall very easily. If she fell for you, she gave her whole heart, she was open and trusting. She surely didn’t do things half way, and loving was one of those things.

Now though, she had been hardened by heartbreak, more reluctant to romance. Instead, she preferred what she thought was safe, that is, avoiding catching feelings at all costs. As soon as she even felt an inkling of that feeling for someone in her stomach, the one that tingled her to her core and spread to her toes, she would cut the person off. Now, it didn’t much happen anymore, if at all. She realized she couldn’t trust others so easily, not everyone had her best interest at heart. So she became used to avoiding feelings. She knew it was easier this way. Besides, she was having fun and thought she was reasonably happy, and that’s all that mattered to her.

\--

Kelley continued her way through the frat house in search of her roommate and best friend Christen. They had separated nearly as soon as they got to the party, but now Kelley was ready to get back to their apartment and her nice warm bed. She stepped out onto a balcony crowded with drunk partygoers watching a group of guys from the men’s soccer team light off fireworks in the backyard. Off to the side she saw Christen with a girl she didn’t recognize.

“Hey Chris, are you going to introduce me to your gorgeous new friend here?’ Kelley asks with a flirtatious smile aimed at the other girl. The girl really is gorgeous, and she is exactly Kelley’s type. Tall, tan, dark haired, and fit. She looks as if she could be a professional athlete. Kelley can see the reflection of fireworks bouncing in the mystery girl’s eyes giving them a soft glow. _Blue? Grey?_ She can’t tell, but she is immediately drawn in _._ Usually, Kelley is pretty good at getting a read on girls to know if they are into girls as well, however, this one has her initially stumped, only adding to her intrigue. Kelley thinks she could be a nice addition to her roster.

Christen gives Kelley a warning glance, perhaps reading her mind, “this is my friend Alex, we knew each other in high school. She’s the transfer from Berkeley that is coming to play with us this season!”

Internally Kelley deflates, repeating her third rule to herself.

_Rule #3: Teammates are off-limits_

This rule she learned the hard way, in the beginning of sophomore year when she started hooking up with her teammate, Hope. It had been one of the times Kelley started to catch feelings, and when she ended it, things got very awkward at practice. Having to see the person you basically broke up with every day is definitely not helpful in forgetting someone. After a while, things finally went back to normal, but only after Kelley vowed to herself to never go after another teammate.

Here though, Alex wasn’t _technically_ her teammate yet. Weighing the pros and cons in her head, Kelley sticks out her hand and says “right, of course, it’s great to meet you Alex, I’m Kelley.”

Instead of reaching out and taking the handshake, Alex glanced down at the outstretched hand, slowly letting her eyes travel the length of Kelley’s body, then back up again, finally landing to make eye-contact. Usually Kelley doesn’t mind being checked out, she’s surely proud of her body, but the look in the girl’s eye makes her uneasy.

“Yes, you have quite the reputation, Kelley O’Hara. The star forward who scores more girls than goals, am I right?” Alex says eyes narrowing, voice level and clearly unimpressed.

“All good things I’m sure?” Kelley responds cheekily, trying to get the girl to crack a smile she has yet to see.

Instead, Alex scoffs and rolls her eyes. Looking to Christen she states she is going to head home, and that they could catch up later, then walks away.

“Wow, that was rude.” Kelley says eying the girl down as she stalks away. She is shocked by the interaction, playing it over again in her head questioning if she had imagined the animosity in her future teammate’s voice. That isn’t the typical way that girls respond to her. Sure some girls aren’t interested, but never has someone blatantly ignored her in such a way.

“I swear she is actually really cool, I don’t really know what that was about, but she’s a teammate anyway Kel, you can’t actually go for her,” Christen responds with a shrug.

Kelley wonders what things Alex had heard about her all the way at Berkeley, but guessing from the other girls’ reaction, it definitely could not have been good.

\--

Hours later, Kelley is unable to sleep, still thinking of the way the tall and tan-skinned girl had regarded her. It was alright if she didn’t want to hook up with Kelley, she was probably straight anyway, and Kelley could handle rejection. What she couldn’t understand was the look of disgust the other girl gave her. She was a likeable person, and prided herself in being so. She would just have to get this girl to see that.

\--

Kelley had one final rule for herself that, since making, she had not yet broken.

_Rule #4: Never say I love you_

The last time she had said those three words, she was only left in complete, and utter heartbreak. Of all the rules she had, she regarded this one most highly. Those words she decided, she would save for a while, guarding them closely and reserving them for just the right person.


	2. Switching Positions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I've figured out the direction I want to take this fic and I'm really excited to continue! But in the meantime here's what I've got  
> Let me know what you think in the comments!

_337 Days Before_

“Kelley, come on! We’re going to be late!” Christen says as she knocks on Kelley’s bedroom door.

“Just a sec!” Kelley calls back. After another minute, the door swings open and standing in front of Christen is a girl she doesn’t recognize.

“Babe, this is my roommate Christen.” Kelley says.

“Hi, nice to meet you—” Christen stalls looking to Kelley then back to the girl, realizing she doesn’t know her name, and her friend doesn’t seem in any place to help.

“Hannah” The girl supplies after a few awkward seconds.

“Hannah, right, sorry if I woke you, I didn’t realize Kelley had company.”

“Oh it’s alright Chris, Hannah was just about to leave” Kelley says.

Kelley kisses the girl on the cheek, and the other girl blushes, saying she will text her later, which Kelley responds to with a wink.

Once the girl has left the apartment, Christen turns to her roommate shaking her head with a smile,

“You didn’t remember her name did you?”

“And why would you say that?” Kelley asks

“Because you called her ‘babe.’ That’s what you call girls when you can’t remember their name. I know you too well KO.” Christen says matter-of-factly.

“Can’t forget something you never knew” Kelley says, with a shrug of her shoulders and a devilish smirk on her lips .

Christen gasps, hanging her mouth open in disbelieve and gives her friend a soft smack on the shoulder.

“Kidding! Only kidding!” Kelley says.

Christen just shakes her head again at her friend, “Ok, get your butt moving, or we actually will be late.” 

\--

It is the first day of preseason, meaning the team has meetings all day, first with the coaches, then with their strength trainers, then their academic advisors and compliance officers. It’s exhausting to say the least. But they start practice tomorrow bright and early, and Kelley couldn’t be more excited. Fall is by far her favorite time of year because it means she gets to spend most of her time with the teammates that have become like family to her, and she gets to lace up and play her favorite sport nearly every day. She knows it's corny, but Kelley always says soccer was her first true love. As a child, she hadn’t found something that gave her nearly as much joy as the sport did. And her love for soccer has been her longest and most successful relationship. Nothing gives her the same rush that she gets from going a full 90, and the electricity she feels through her veins when she scores a goal or completes a perfect pass in unlike any other sensation. Kelley just knows that this year will be something special, and she has high hopes of lifting that National Championship trophy at the end of the season.

\--

“Coach, you wanted to see me?” Kelley says knocking on Jill’s door at the end of the day.

“Yes, Kelley please come in, how's everything?” Jill asks. The two engage in polite conversation catching up on what they had missed during the summer months.

“Well, Kelley the reason I called you in here is because I wanted to talk to you about your position,” she pauses, “I want you to play right back this season.” She looks to Kelley for a reaction, but her player is unreadable.

“Obviously, you’re clearly an impeccable forward and goal-scorer, but I know you are a strong and capable athlete that will be able to handle the transition. As captain, I know you are willing to do anything for the success of this team, and this is what we need from you, for us to be hoisting that trophy at the end of the season, alright?”

Kelley sits there in shocked silence. She has never been anything but a striker, how could she possibly move to outside back? She is a good forward. No, she is a _really_ good forward, what the hell is Jill thinking? Kelley’s mind spins as she tries to figure out what to say.

“Ok, of course I would do anything for this team, but why me, why now? I don’t know anything about defense!” Kelley’s voice raises in slight panic.

“As you know, we have some new talent coming in, Alex Morgan to be specific, as well as some freshman that should be pretty good, that can deliver at the starting forward position, and we are crucially lacking in the defensive area, so we need you to make this move. I promise that we will coach you through the transition, and I am confident you will be a great leader back there.” Jill responds plainly. It is clear her coach had put a lot of thought into her decision, but Kelley can’t help but ask,

“Have you even thought this through? That’s my position!” She internally winces at how whiny and petulant she sounds.

“Kelley, as I said early, as captain, I expect you to accept your new role for the greater good of the team. If you can’t accept this, there is always a place on the bench waiting for you. But you are way too talented to be off the field, we need you in order to win, so this is happening whether you like it or not. I would just prefer that we are on the same page, got it?” Jill responds sternly, likely not happy with being questioned on her decision.

It is clear that Jill has made up her mind, so Kelley simply nods and says “understood coach, I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” rushing out of the room before she says something she regrets.

_336 Days Before_

After ranting for the better part of the night to Christen about Jill’s idiocy, Kelley is up and ready to take on the day with a vengeance. She crushes the fitness test, scoring highest on the team, dribbles past her teammates with ease, and goes into bone-crunching tackles like she never has before.

She also doesn’t talk to Alex once. Even though she is an upperclassman, and should be trying to welcome the younger and newer members of the team, Kelley can’t help but pointedly ignore the transfer at all costs. She is bitter about the new girl coming in to take her spot, and she hasn’t forgotten the way Alex had acted toward her at the party.

If Alex cares or even notices Kelley ignoring her, she doesn’t show it all, only serving to make Kelley more angry. To add insult to injury, her teammates seem to love the new girl, treating her like a shiny new toy to play with, and getting along with her easily.

At one point during their second practice of the day, Kelley stands next to Christen and Ashlyn during a water break.

“So do we have a read on Alex yet? As in, do we know which team she swings for?” Ashlyn asks wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“She has a boyfriend back at Cal” Christen answers, “and would Ali be happy knowing you’re so interested in the new girl?”

“Hey, I’m not asking for me,” Ashlyn says holding her hands up in defense, “I’m just wondering out of general queeriosity.”

Kelley and Christen snort out laughs at their friend’s humor, and Kelley throws in an exaggerated eyeroll. Christen goes on to tell Ashlyn and Kelley a bit more about her high school friend.

“Why is everyone so obsessed with her anyway” Kelley asks in annoyance.

“Whoa, no one is obsessed with her yet, and besides, we aren’t the ones who have been eye-fucking her all day long.” Ashlyn quips back.

“If I’ve been staring at her, it’s because she was a total bitch to me when we met on the 4th of July, and I don’t like her coming in here thinking she owns the place.” Kelley says crossing her arms across her chest. She knows she’s being harsh but she can’t help it, she wants her starting spot back, and Alex _had_ been rude to her for no apparent reason. Luckily, Jill blows her whistle signaling the water break is over and Kelley is able to escape the conversation.

\--

Later that night at their apartment Christen says to Kelley,

“Kell, you are my best friend so if you hate Alex, I hate Alex too,” she pauses “But honestly she is a really great girl, and you guys have so much in common, I think you would like her if you just got to know her.”

“Chris, you're sweet for saying that, but you're like the nicest person ever, you could never hate anyone." Kelley sighs before heading off to bed, sick of speaking about Alex for what seems like the hundredth time that day.

Down the street, in an apartment of their own, Allie and Alex are having a similar conversation.

“Alex, you would love Kelley if you just gave her a chance! I could honestly see you guys being really good friends.”

“I have enough friends Allie, I don’t need any more.” Alex simply states. 

Christen and Allie are right of course, Alex and Kelley are perhaps more similar than they realize. And if there is one thing that they surely have in common, it is that they are both awfully stubborn.


	3. New Roommate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelley and Alex finally have a real conversation

  


* * *

_314 Days Before_

After three grueling weeks of two-a-days, weight-lifting, and ice-baths, preseason is over, and it’s finally the first game of the season.

Kelley can’t contain her excitement, and nerves, as she sits in the locker-room during Jill’s pregame speech. Christen reaches out to stop Kelley’s anxiously bouncing knee, and offers her a small encouraging smile. She can’t tell whether the knot in her stomach is a good or bad sign.

  


\--

As it turns out, it was a terrible sign. The game was an absolute upset, and the team played horribly. They didn’t seem to gel, and Kelley noticed a serious disconnect between her and Alex. Every pass Kelley attempted to the forward was either intercepted or ran too long. As the game wore on, both Alex and Kelley became noticeably more frustrated. Maybe they just weren’t meant to play together. At one point during the game when another of Kelley’s passes failed to connect, Alex lifted her hands up and sent a glare in the older girl’s direction, as if to say “what the fuck are you doing.” Kelley just rolled her eyes in response, trying her best to work herself into the game. However, that moment never came.

  


Upset with her performance and the poor result, Kelley typed out a ‘you up?’ text to a handful of girls from her roster as she left the stadium freshly showered. She clicked on the first reply, responding that she would be there in 10 minutes, perfectly content to drown herself in the touch of another girl to forget the awful game.

  


  


_307 Days Before_

“Kelley, I’ve made rooming assignments for this upcoming away trip, and you will be rooming with Alex.” Jill says earning a raised eyebrow from the freckled girl.

“Something wrong with that?” Jill questions.

“No of course not, coach” Kelley responds carefully.

“I’ve noticed that you two are lacking a connection both on and off the field, and I think spending some quality time with your new roommate could help with that. You guys will room together until further notice.”

Jill was right, Kelley and Alex had both been pointedly ignoring one another, despite how hard it was to do so considering their friends overlapped and they spent a good amount of time together because of soccer. In Kelley’s mind, she doesn’t quite understand the lovefest her teammates have with the Berkeley girl. Sure she may be tall and tan and beautiful, and have a rocket of a shot, but she’s really nothing _that_ special. And simply put, Kelley rubbed Alex the wrong way. Anytime Kelley made a joke that had others doubled over in laughter, Alex would roll her eyes and walk away. Whenever someone complimented or mentioned the younger girl, Kelley’s usually cheerful demeanor suddenly turned stone cold. Even with their friends trying to convince the two to get along, neither seemed willing to budge.

  


But deep down Kelley knows that Jill is right, she can’t let whatever this is going on between them, affect their play. Against every stubborn bone in her body, she knows she should at least try to get along with the other girl for the good of the team.

  


\--

  


Kelley enters the hotel room, throwing her duffle bag onto the bed closest to the window and lays down on it, exhausted from a long day of travelling on the team bus. The last thing she feels like doing is talking, especially to Alex. Yet, Kelley remembers how terribly their last loss had stung, and she doesn’t plan on feeling that way again, so she decides to bite the bullet, knowing that getting to know Alex couldn’t hurt.

  


Kelley turns to the other girl who is sprawled on the opposite bed, “you’ve been doing really well in practice, keep it up.” She smiles slightly, although it mostly resembles a grimace. As much as it pains her to admit, the other girl is an outstanding forward.

“Thanks!” Alex says, flashing a bright and genuine smile that Kelley had not yet seen directed at her before.

“You have a really pretty smile.” Kelley blurts honestly. She definitely hadn’t meant to say it, but it was out now. She hopes that complimenting the other girl will ease the tension between the two. She sends a half smile back at Alex, batting her eyelids shyly.

Alex’s eyes narrow suddenly.

“Don’t flirt with me, O’Hara.”

“What, I wasn’t—” Kelley starts. If she had been flirting it was only on accident. Mostly.

“You are. And I’ve heard about your – what do you call it, your lineup? – and I don’t have any intention of being a part of it.”

“Roster, actually.” The words escape Kelley’s lip before she has the chance to catch herself and she visible cringes. Somehow saying it aloud to Alex made her feel douchey. 

Alex scoffs, turning over in her bed to face the opposite wall, away from the other girl, “yeah. Your _roster_.” Alex’s voice drips with disapproval.

Kelley pauses, not wanting to accidentally let anything slip again. Something about the other girl made Kelley uncharacteristically poor with her words. Usually she strode confidently through conversations, born with the gift of gab. But with Alex, for some reason she felt nervous.

After a few moments Kelley decides to get straight to the problem, no point in beating around the bush.

“Can you at least tell me why you hate me so much?” Kelley asks.

“Well you don’t seem to be my biggest fan either,” Alex says. Kelley knows the younger girl is right, and feels guilty at being called out.

“Ok, I can understand if you don’t want to be friends, we don’t have to be. But we are teammates and as captain I only want what is best for this team. I’ll be honest, I was upset with you for coming in and taking my position, and I’ve been feeling insecure about having to switch to defense. But I can see how talented of a player you are and I know you will truly help this team get to where we want to go.”

Kelley fears she is rambling, but she has more to say, “I know you don’t like me, but as teammates I hope that we can keep it from affecting our play together. But moving forward I think it might help for me to know why you hate me.” Kelley finishes letting out a nervous sigh as she waits for the other girl to respond. It takes a minute of silence, during which Kelley internally panics, before Alex speaks up.

“Do you remember the first night we met?”

“Yes.” How could she forget? Alex had looked stunning, and the girl is definitely not easy to miss, not that she would say that to Alex.

“And do you remember what you first said to me?’

“I don’t know… ‘nice to meet you?’”

“You said ‘occupied, get out.’” Kelley recoils, vaguely remembering saying those words to someone – Alex apparently. A pit forms in her stomach realizing the situation that Alex is speaking of was definitely not meant for first impressions. Embarrassed, Kelley racks her brain for a response. Before she can figure out the right thing to say Alex continues,

“So yeah, the first time we met I’m pretty sure you had your hand down a girl’s pants, and it just proved to me that so many of the things I’ve heard about you were right.”

“I’m not sure what things you are talking about Alex—”

“Do you know Emily Sonnett?”

If Kelley had a pit in her stomach before, there must now be a gaping abyss. She knows where this conversation is headed. Sonnett had been one of the first girls she had gotten with after her breakup with her ex-girlfriend. She was vulnerable and not quite so steady in following her rules. But after a brief summer fling, she ended things with Sonnett, knowing she was starting to fall too deep and not ready to be so emotionally exposed again. She didn’t trust herself to avoid getting hurt. So she sent Emily a text calling it off, blocked her number, and tried not to think of the girl again. Sonnett definitely had deserved better. 

By the look on Kelley’s face, Alex must know she has a struck a nerve.

“She was my roommate up at Cal and she told me all about you, how you broke her heart then disappeared. I come here and the first thing I see is you hooking up with some blonde girl who looks just like her. So no, I’m not really your biggest fan.” Alex says, and it has a finality as if she has gotten a weight off her chest.

“How is she? Emily, I mean” Kelley ventures guiltily.

“Good, no thanks to you, Kelley.” The younger girl snaps.

“Listen, Alex, I’m sorry I ended it with her like that, I really am, I had just gotten out of relationship and was in a really bad place emotionally. She deserved better than that.”

Kelley then finds herself opening up to Alex in a way she hadn’t done with anyone in a while.

“Freshman year I got cheated on… a lot. My girlfriend at the time, Ann, she promised she loved me, said all the right things, and I really thought we were happy together, that she was the _one_. At least that’s what I thought. I gave her my complete and utter trust. But long story short, I found out she was cheating on me the entire time we were dating. A full year. You can’t love someone if you are willing to hurt them like that.” Kelley feels a lump forming in her throat, but she will not cry in front of Alex, no way. So she takes a deep breath, swallowing hard before continuing with a level voice, “I’m not saying it’s an excuse really, it’s not, I didn’t treat Emily right. But when it comes to girls I have trust issues.”

Alex frowns and her face softens, “I’m really sorry to hear that, thank you for telling me. No one deserves to get cheated on and I can’t imagine how you felt or what you went through.” Alex takes a slight pause, “But you’re right that’s not an excuse. All of us have gone through shit and we don’t all have ‘rosters.’” She says making air quotes, “that sounds like something an immature frat boy jokes about with his brothers.”

Kelley nods, trying to take in Alex’s words.

The forward continues “But I do understand where you are coming from with the whole getting along for soccer thing, I mean It is the reason I am here, so I think I can agree to try a little harder at that.”

Kelley waits for Alex to say more but she doesn’t so the older girl just nods and says, “I agree, let’s win that championship, starting with our game tomorrow.” Kelley says giving a smile, which Alex returns, before she turns back over in her bed.

With her back facing her Alex says softly, “And if it means anything to you, you don’t need to be insecure about moving to defense. I’ve seen what you can do, and if there is anyone capable of switching positions so rapidly, it’s you.”

“Thanks, Alex” Kelley says just as softly back, reveling at the compliment from the other girl.

After a few minutes of silence, Alex’s breathing evens out, and Kelley can tell she has fallen asleep.

  


Kelley feels both better and worse at the same after the conversation. On the one hand, it feels as though she has broken ground with Alex. It felt refreshing for her to open up to someone and Alex had been so understanding, but surprisingly real with the freckled girl at the same time. But on the other hand, Kelley feels something akin to ashamed of herself. She can’t stop thinking of the way Alex had compared her to a fratboy. Maybe having a roster is a bit immature, but it’s not the worst thing in the world, Kelley reasons, at least she isn’t cheating.

Before she falls asleep, she wonders why her heart is pounding so loudly in throat, and why the raspy voice of the girl across the room won’t escape her mind.


	4. Great Game, Hot Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> House party at Ashlyn and Pinoe's

* * *

_293 Days Before_

After their talk, it seems as if Alex and Kelley are finally starting to click more. They definitely aren’t friends, but they are no longer so cold to one another. In practice, they’ve even surprisingly developed some chemistry on the field, playing better together than they originally had. The entire team has been succeeding, having won three games in a row after their first initial loss.

It’s a Friday, and they have a game tonight under the lights, Kelley’s favorite. School has just started and there is a rally before the game to get students to come out and watch, so the fan section should be decently packed. While a crowded stadium might ignite nerves in others, Kelley thrives under pressure, knowing there are could be hot girls in the stands watching her may have something to do with it.

\--

The game has been tied 1-1 since Christen netted a goal in the 50th minute to even the score. Since then, the game has been rough, both teams fighting hard to get that game-winning goal. Kelley has been a workhorse all game long, defending like a mad-woman, dribbling up and down the sideline, however, nothing has connected just yet. She is getting anxious, determined not to let the game go into overtime.

In the 87th minute Kelley finds the perfect opportunity, she slide tackles at the edge of her team’s box, stealing the ball away from her opponent. Dialing up the speed, she takes the ball down the sideline, weaving past defenders as if they are standing still. She beats her final man as she nears the end-line, picking her head up to see Alex making a run towards goal. Kelley sends in a lofted cross, which connects spectacularly with Alex’s head and flies into the back of the net.

Kelley rushes toward Alex, jumping up on the taller girl and cheering in excitement. Alex catches the defender in her arms for a second before letting her down as the rest of the team surrounds them. The student section has gone wild, chanting at a deafening level. Kelley finds herself looking into Alex’s eyes and she can’t help the smile that overtakes her face. Alex smiles just as widely back at her. In the moment, she finds herself briefly trying to figure out again what color Alex’s eyes are, as the stadium lights reflect in them. A teammate claps a congratulating hand on Kelley’s shoulder, and the moment passes. She shakes it off, and follows the rest of her team as they head back to midfield. They lock down defensively in the final minutes remaining in the game to secure the big win.

As soon as the whistle is blown, the team collapses into a huddle, celebrating once again.

Jill, especially pleased with their performance, gives them the following day off, which the girls cheer to, knowing this means that they are able to celebrate their win with alcohol, without fear of being hungover at practice the next morning.

“Party at my place!” Ashlyn whoops as the rest of the team cheers and heads to the locker room.

\--

An hour and a half later, the entire team is packed in Ashlyn and Pinoe’s house, along with most of the other teams in the athletic department, and a good amount of students who had attended the game. Kelley is buzzing from the win, and from the three beers that she had shotgunned when she arrived at the house.

Kelley strides through the party, until she spots Alex sitting alone on the couch in the living room. Normally she wouldn’t so freely approach the younger girl, but after the assist and their celebration on the field today, Kelley feels as if a wall between them has been broken down.

“Hey Ms. Morgan can I get your autograph?” Kelley jokes as she sits down beside Alex.

Alex turns to look at the freckled girl and laughs, “of course anything for my number one fan.” Kelley leans back with a relaxed smirk as the younger girl sets her drink on the coffee table. 

“Really though, that was an amazing goal”

“Thanks, couldn’t have done it without an equally amazing pass.” Alex says batting her eyelids in modesty. She breaks eye-contact as a blush creeps into her cheeks.

“So, do you like the Braves?” she asks, quickly changing the subject, intent on getting the attention off herself.

“What? Oh my hat—” Kelley says, as she reaches to touch the brim, “yeah I’m a huge fan of baseball, and I’m from Atlanta, so I guess I’m a pretty big Braves fan” she shrugs.

“I’m a huge baseball fan too! Actually, my old teammate’s boyfriend plays for the Braves! I mean I’m a Dodgers fan obviously, but it’s still pretty cool,” Alex says.

“What no way! That is awesome, maybe he could hook us up with tickets or something?” Kelley says, half joking, but truly interested in the possibility.

“Whoa, already using me? I’m not sure we are even friends yet O’Hara,” Alex says easily with a laugh.

Something has shifted in their relationship. All of a sudden, the girls find conversation flowing easily between them. The alcohol may be a factor in that, but Kelley isn’t complaining. It’s nice to have a light-hearted conversation with the other girl.

Alex finds herself giggling at Kelley’s antics which she would usually scoff at, and Kelley finds that her and Alex actually have a lot more in common than she thought. Christen may have actually been right on this one, but Kelley’s not going to tell her that. They sit there talking for what seems like forever, and Kelley does her best to remain respectful, meaning she dials down the flirting. She can see herself developing a friendship with Alex, and she doesn’t want to risk scaring her off, remembering the conversation they shared on their first away trip. But Kelley can’t help but be a tiny bit flirty, it’s just her nature. So when she lightly teases the new girl, wearing that charming grin on her face, or when she leans toward her when she speaks and her eyes have a mischievous glint, as if she Is letting Alex in on some big secret, it’s not flirting, she tells herself, and it’s definitely not on purpose. It’s just how she is.

After a while, she sees that Alex’s cup is empty and offers to refill it for her. She takes the cup as she stands, promising to be right back and heads off to the kitchen.

Kelley opens the refrigerator door and pulls out a handle of vodka and cranberry juice, and when she turns to place the items on the counter, she bumps into someone.

“Oh sorry—” Kelley says, but stops when she realizes it is one of her high-level roster girls from the softball team, “hi, Sarah” she smiles.

“Great game, hot shot” the girl grins back.

“Thanks, I didn’t know you were here. Having fun?” Kelley asks.

“I am now,” the girl says stepping into Kelley’s personal space. Kelley’s mind is slightly cloudy from alcohol, and for a second she is tempted to reach for the girl. In any other circumstance she would in a heartbeat, but for some reason she refrains. She looks down to the cup in her hand and thinks of Alex sitting on the couch. She definitely would rather spend her time with Alex, even if it was strictly platonic, compared to going home and sleeping with this girl.

“What are you doing after this?” Sarah asks, this time reaching down and grabbing Kelley’s hand into her own.

“Uh—” Kelley stiffens.

“Kelley, what’s taking you so long?” Alex calls with a giggle in her voice as she strides into the kitchen. However, as soon as she gathers the scene in front of her, she stops in her tracks. She looks between Kelley, and the softball girl, then down to their linked hands, which Kelley then quickly drops. Without saying a word, Alex spins on her heel and bolts out of the kitchen.

“Shit.” Kelley says to herself, and follows after the other girl.

“Alex! Alex wait!” Kelley calls, but the other girl has disappeared in the crowd of the party.. All Kelley can do is put her head in her hands and groan.

_286 Days Before_

It’s been a week since the incident at the party, and whatever progress Kelley thought she was making with Alex has dissipated. The transfer had ignored her all week. She contemplated texting the other girl, but she didn’t want to make the situation more awkward. Although nothing had happened with Sarah, Kelley still felt uneasy. But she also didn’t feel as if she was completely in the wrong. After all, Alex did have a boyfriend, and Kelley hadn’t even done anything with the other girl. Not to mention, it’s not like they were dating, they weren’t even really friends. Ultimately she ended up texting Alex and asking her if everything was alright, to which the taller girl replied, ‘yep all good.’

Since that night, Kelley hadn’t called up any of her roster girls at all, she didn’t really feel like it. Christen jokingly asked her if something was wrong with her, but Kelley honestly didn’t know. It had been a week and she didn’t feel any less happy without the girls. Maybe they hadn’t even given her happiness in the first place.

\--

“I invited Allie and Alex over for a movie night.” Christen says. The girls were leaving for an away trip the next morning, so a low-key night in sounded perfect.

“Oh, ok, that’s fine with me.” Kelley responds, suddenly nervous at the prospect of Alex being in their apartment.

“I know you and Alex don’t always get along, but please, play nice, ok?”

“What, of course I will!” Kelley says.

Christen scrutinizes her friend, then nods contented, apparently finding Kelley's response convincing enough.

\--

They watch Ocean’s 8, one of Kelley’s favorite movies, and it is actually much less awkward than she expected it to be. Alex is stiff at first, but as the night goes on, she warms up towards the older girl, even flashing a brief smile at one of the defender’s jokes.

At one point Allie and Christen, head into the kitchen on the pretenses of getting more popcorn.

“Alex?” Kelley says, sensing now might be a good time to clear the air.

“Yes?”

“I just want you to know, nothing happened with me and the girl in the kitchen, and nothing was going to happen. I mean, I was having a good time hanging out with you, I wasn’t going to ditch you and go off with her or anything like that.”

“Ok” Alex says softly.

“I guess I just wanted you to know that.”

“Ok O’Hara, whatever you say.”

“And I still kind of hoping you can hook me up with those Braves tickets.” Kelley says smirking.

“Hey!” Alex says, gasping in mock offense and throwing a pillow the girl’s way.

After a few more traded pillow tosses, both girls are laughing.

As Allie and Christen return to the room, Allie looks between the two girls surprised, then to Christen she says, “Wow, what did we miss?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think in the comments below! Any suggestions, criticisms, or compliments are helpful!


	5. One Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Kelley watch baseball together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like the update! As always, comments and critiques are helpful!

* * *

_265 Days Before_

In a short amount of time, Kelley and Alex have grown exponentially closer. If Kelley is one thing, it’s charismatic, and it's only a matter of time before the younger girl feels herself warming up to the defender. It might be the way that when Kelley thinks something is funny, she throws her head back in a wide-open theatrical laugh, or that she seems to be able to make anyone happier just by entering the room. Either way, Alex’s ice cold exterior to the girl has melted, and they were quickly on their way to friendship. It also helped that their roommates were always forcing the girls to be together. Whether, it be a movie night at Alex and Allie’s, or Kelley making dinner for the girls in her apartment, the four were becoming quite the tight knit group.

It also had been nearly a month since she had slept with anyone. She couldn’t put her finger on why, but she for some reason just didn’t feel the need to hit up her roster girls. Somehow they just weren’t as appealing anymore. Maybe it had a little something to do with Alex, but if you asked Kelley, the taller girl had no part in it. Sure it might be a coincidence that ever since Alex had called her out on it, Kelley had started to slowly stop seeing the girls, but that was just it, a coincidence. It might also may have something to do with the fact that the last time she had sex with a girl, she for some reason imagined Alex. But that too was also just a random occurrence. Besides, Alex was her friend now, and Kelley couldn’t think of her that way. There were so many reasons Kelley could _not_ go down that road, namely, Alex is definitely straight, and she has a boyfriend. Not to mention, Kelley doesn’t even do the whole dating thing anyway. She’s not going to let herself catch feelings, and definitely not for a teammate. She was nearly breaking her first rule already, and she wasn’t about to break any more.

Whereas Kelley’s sex life was relatively inactive, she was on fire on the field, as was the entire team. Their record was now an astounding 10-1, earning them a high ranking in the national standings, and so far they were leading the conference, although it was early. Alex has continued to score amazing goals for the team, and Kelley keeps dishing out assists. The two have made quite the formidable pair for their opponents, and developed an uncanny chemistry, as if they had played together longer than just two and a half months. Perhaps it has something to do with their rooming together, which Kelley must admit, she does enjoy. She cherishes the alone time she spends with Alex in hotel rooms. Sometimes they enjoy conversation, other times they just sit in comfortable silence, nonetheless it seems to have done wonders for their relationship. It's hard to hate someone when you spend so much time together. They learn things about one another that you only learn when you share a living space with someone, even if it is only temporary. Kelley learns that Alex can’t sleep with the TV on, and Alex learns that Kelley sings in the shower, always loud and usually off key. The older girl finds herself taking careful note of Alex’s habits and collecting them away in the back of her mind, for what reason, she has no idea.

\--

“Hi, Kelley.” It’s Alex.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, superstar?’ Kelley responds into the phone. Alex has never called her before. The way her heart rate spikes at seeing Alex’s name light up across her screen does not go unnoticed.

“So as you know, the Braves are playing the Dodgers tomorrow in the playoffs, and I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my place and watch? Unfortunately I couldn’t get you the hookup on tickets, but I can make popcorn and we can pretend we’re there?”

For some reason, Alex sounds very formal in her invitation. She and Kelley had discussed the possibility of the two teams playing each other in the National League playoff series, ribbing each other on which team would win out.

“I was expecting front row seats, Alex.” Kelley deadpans.

“Oh, shut up before I disinvite you, do you want to come over or not?” Alex rolls her eyes at her friend. The freckled girl lets out a boisterous laugh, and Alex can imagine the look on the other girl’s face, even over the phone.

“Only kidding, of course I would love to!”

“Alright great, come over right after practice tomorrow?”

“Sure, I can’t wait to watch the end of your precious team’s season.”

After exchanging a bit more smack talk, the girls finally hang up.

Kelley places her phone against her chest over her stampeding heart, hugging it tightly to her body, as a smile stretches across her face, thankful her friend isn’t able to see the embarrassingly crimson blush that heats her cheeks.

\--

After practice, Kelley heads to Alex’s apartment. Unconsciously, she had been a mix between nervous and excited all day. But as she nears the apartment, the fluttering in her stomach is undeniable, and she tells herself it’s because she wants the Braves to win so badly. She almost believes it.

Their usual accompaniments are off doing their own thing, Christen having a midterm she has to study for, and Allie saying “baseball, ew,” when asked to join, so the two girls are able to enjoy the games by themselves. Kelley realizes this is the first time she has really hung out with Alex alone outside of their shared hotel room on away trips, which only serves to further ignite her nerves.

Alex plops down on the couch next to Kelley, bringing with her a bowl of popcorn from the kitchen. Kelley observes that Alex is sitting rather close to her, leaving a large portion of the couch avoided, so close in fact that their knees bump when the forward shifts in her seat. If Alex notices the way the older girl slightly jumps at the sensation, she doesn’t say anything.

They watch the game, each cheering at different points, doing the absolute most to annoy the other. The Braves end up winning the game 5-2, at which point, Kelley stands and does a ridiculous dance, and Alex pretends to be bothered, yet she can’t help but laugh.

“More, popcorn?” Alex asks standing up.

Even though the game is over, Kelley stays a little longer, happy to spend more time with Alex. The girls lounge on the couch for another hour or two, talking and half-heartedly watching an episode of Love Island. She’s careful to gauge Alex’s reaction to the love-stories unfolding before them on the screen.

“How’s Servando?”

“He’s good, why?” Alex asks turning to Kelley.

“I don’t know, I guess we just never really talk about relationship stuff together.”  
“Oh. Well he’s fine.” Alex says turning back to the TV, her posture has become slightly more stiff, and if Kelley wasn’t sitting so close and specifically paying attention, she may not have noticed.

“Will I ever get to meet him?”

“It’s kind of hard right now for him to visit, he plays soccer at Cal, you know how it is during the season.”

“Now that I think about it, I’m not totally convinced he’s even real. Sounds kind of fake to me.” Kelley says with a quirked eyebrow and small smirk to let Alex know she is joking.

Alex slaps Kelley on the arm, offering some banter of her own, “are any of your ‘roster’ girls ever going to make an appearance in the daylight hours?”

“I—” Kelley stutters, taken aback at the comment, “I’m not really seeing any of them anymore." She hesitates for a long moment before continuing, "I’m not really seeing anyone at all, actually.” Kelley says, her voice quieting as she finishes her sentence.

Alex tilts her head, knitting her eyebrows together. Her eyes soften, melting into that blue-grey color that so puzzles Kelley. She can see the shadowing light from the TV bouncing back and forth in them.

“Oh, that’s—nice.” Is all Alex says, breaking eye contact to look back at the screen. Kelley stares for a few moments longer at the girl’s side profile, sure that the other girl can sense the eyes still fixated on her. Kelley herself then turns to face forward as well, her mind racing trying to understand what the other girl’s reaction meant, if it meant anything at all. She probably didn’t care much what Kelley did anyway, and she suddenly feels stupid for letting herself think too much into it.

“Yeah, it is nice.” Kelley responds.

_~~Rule #1: Always have a full roster.~~ _


	6. Alex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decided to try a little Alex POV, enjoy!

* * *

_246 Days Before_

“Happy Halloween!” Alex says answering the Facetime call from Servando.

“Are those fangs?” Serv laughs.

“Oh, yeah,” Alex says removing the fake teeth from her mouth, “the team had a little Halloween party in the lobby.” They are on a long weekend away trip, and the girls, unable to celebrate with booze and slutty costumes, decided to make the most of the holiday in their hotel.

“Who is your roommate?”

“Kelley. We room together every trip, remember?” Alex rolls her eyes knowing she has told her boyfriend this fact at least five times, “You met her when we played at Cal, and you guys met after the game. Shorter than me, freckles?”

“I know, I know, I was joking, you talk about her all the time Lex, how could I forget.”

“Ok! I wasn’t sure, sometimes your memory is pretty bad, remember when you forgot our anniversary?” Alex quips back.

“Our _6 month_ anniversary, not a real one.” Serv shifts in his seat, “But, anyway, is she there right now? I mean, do you have time to talk?” He asks. Alex can sense his nervousness, even through the screen.

“No, she’s hanging out with Allie, I think. Why, what’s up?”

Serv pauses.

“Alex, I—this isn’t working out, I think we both know that.” He says. Alex’s heart drops to the bottom of her stomach.

“What do you mean this isn’t working out?”

“We barely make time for each other. We knew long distance was going to be hard, but I feel like neither of us are putting in the effort to make this relationship work, do you agree?”

Alex takes a second to digest. It was something that had been on her mind quite often if she was honest. Despite living less than an hour and half drive away, she and Servando had only seen each other once in three months, and that was last week after the team played Berkeley in a conference game (winning 3-0), where they had talked for about thirty minutes before she had to board the bus and head back to her new campus.

At first, she thought it was a good thing that distance felt so easy. She thought that maybe it was because they were so strong as a couple that she didn’t miss him that much. She was being independent, living her life normally, and not letting the distance depress her. She couldn’t be expected to put her life and happiness on hold while she waited to be back in the same city as him. Everyone had warned her how difficult long distance could be, how it could strain communication and create trust issues, and how the lack of physical connection could take a serious toll on a relationship. But Alex felt none of those things. She certainly trusted Serv, and she really wasn’t missing the sex all that much. Sure, she had enjoyed being physical with him to a certain extent, but it wasn’t mind blowing or anything.

But after a while, her lack of distress at his absence started to worry her. Why was it so _easy_ for her to be away from her boyfriend? Shouldn’t she be a little bit more sad about not being able to spend time with him? Allie and her boyfriend Bati were dating long distance as well, and all her friend could talk about was how she couldn’t wait to see him again. For some reason, Alex didn’t feel that way.

Sometimes she would even be a few hours into her day and realize that she hadn’t texted her boyfriend, not thinking of him in the first moments that she woke, or the moments after, for that matter. And when she did miss him, it felt more so the way you miss a friend you haven’t seen in a while, not the way you should miss the person you are in love with.

“Serv, I guess I don’t know what to say.” Alex sighs and takes a long pause. “You’re right though, things have definitely been off between us lately.”

“Just tell me, is there someone else?”

“No, of course not—” Alex stutters out, confused at the question

“You can tell me if there is, I won’t be mad. Well, I won’t be _that_ mad. Just the way you’ve been acting—so distant, I can’t help but wonder…” He trails off, sadness in his eyes.

_Was_ there someone else? Alex looks across the hotel room, to where her friend’s things are sprawled across her bed. She couldn’t help the way that her mind immediately jumped to Kelley. She shook her head, trying to get the thought out of her brain. She had been doing a lot of that lately as well. In the times where Alex should be thinking of her boyfriend, the freckled defender intruded her thoughts. As the two spent more time together, Alex found that Kelley brought a light and lively energy to her life that she hadn’t realized she was missing.

When Alex doesn’t immediately answer, Serv speaks up again, “Lex, if there is someone else out there, I’m sure they would be the luckiest guy in the world.” He pauses waiting for Alex to respond. “Or girl.”

That snaps her out of her current train of thought.

“What—”

“Alex, even though we are breaking up, I'm still your friend and I want you to be happy. You know that right?" Is that a knowing look? Alex wonders. Serv continues, "I think it’s clear that we work much better as friends anyway.”

Alex once again stays quiet. She definitely had kept her thoughts about girls to herself. As far as her family, friends, and the rest of the world were concerned, she was perfectly straight. She was surprised and slightly alarmed at Servando’s apparent insight into her mind.

“Yes, I agree, we are much better at being friends.” Alex says sadly.

After talking a while more, the two hang up, having laid their romantic relationship to rest. Alex lays back on her pillow, letting tears drip down the sides of her face as she mourns the loss of her relationship with Servando. Although she maybe was no longer in love with him (or never was? She isn’t sure), she still feels distraught at their break up. They had some great times together. Not to mention, her family loved him and she wasn’t looking forward to telling them that they had ended things. The way Servando had so casually suggested that Alex might like girls had her uneasy, she was definitely not ready to admit that aloud.

As if summoned by divine intervention, the door to the hotel room then swings open, and in bounds Kelley cheerily.

“Yo, I brought you some M&Ms from the vending machine, your favorite!” Kelley says, before spotting Alex’s tear-stained face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” She says softly, crossing the room and sitting on the edge of the younger girl’s bed, then placing a hand on her shin.

“Serv and I broke up.”

At the announcement of her terminated relationship, Alex sniffles and feels tears falling down her cheeks once again. Embarrassed, she puts her face into her hands, not wanting Kelley to see her like this.

Kelley swiftly pulls her into a hug, “Oh come here, it’s ok, everything will be alright.”

Alex lets herself be enveloped into Kelley’s arms, taking in the warmth of the other girl, and letting her head fall onto her shoulder. Alex can’t help but notice that Kelley smells sweetly of soap and an earthy shampoo.

The two don’t say much more for a while, and Kelley doesn’t push her, just sits there with her until the tears cease to fall. When Alex feels she can speak without crying, she tells Kelley what happened, including all of her reservations about the relationship. She explains that even though she had sensed she was outgrowing her boyfriend, she still felt an unexpected sadness that it was over. Servando was a good friend to her, and things would be different now, no matter how hard they tried to avoid it. Kelley nods, as she strokes her hair and offers her advice, letting Alex know she is there for her. 

Once Alex has calmed down, Kelley gets up to return to her own bed.

“Could you stay?” she asks, immediately hating how needy her voice sounds.

Kelley looks around, unsure whether she should comply or not. She shifts from foot to foot, as if she is weighing her options.

Finally, “of course, let me just go brush my teeth and get ready for bed.” She says and heads off to the bathroom.

When she returns, she crawls in under the covers next to Alex, careful not to accidentally brush legs and soon, both are taken by sleep.

When her alarm goes off, Kelley rolls over to see Alex drowsily opening her eyes. She smiles softly. Returning the look with a sleepy grin of her own, Alex offhandedly admires the beauty of the other girl and the way her eyes are so astonishingly green in the morning light, before hastily brushing away her thoughts.

\--

_243 Days Before_

A knock on her door draws Alex from her room. After returning from their away trip, Alex had wanted some time alone, some quiet space to herself to think and her friends graciously gave that to her. She walks to the front door, wondering who it could be.

“Kelley? Hi.” Alex says opening the door, suddenly self-conscious of the wrinkled pajamas she has on.

“I brought face masks and food” Kelley says, holding up the face masks in one hand, and a carry out bag from their favorite Thai restaurant down the street.

“Did you get me Pad Thai?”

“Duh,” Kelley scoffs pushing past the other girl and into the apartment. “I didn’t want you to be sad alone.”

Alex smiles delicately at the other girl, “Kel, you didn’t have to.”

“I know, but I wanted to. I know you said you wanted to have some space, but that doesn’t feel right. We don’t have to talk or anything, we can just sit here in silence if that’s what you want.” Alex laughs, “ _or_ we can do these face masks, and I can paint your nails and we can binge Grey’s Anatomy?”

“That sounds perfect.” Alex smiles.

\--

_232 Days Before_

“So what are you going to do about this Alex thing?” Ashlyn asks Kelley. They are sitting in the locker room one day before practice.

“What ‘Alex thing’” Kelley says lifting her fingers to make air-quotes.

“Don’t play dumb, I’m talking about how you look at her like she hung the frickin’ stars in the sky, and she laughs at your stupid jokes like you are a comedic genius. What’s going on between you two anyway?”

“What do you mean, Ashlyn?” Kelley says. Of course she knows what Ashlyn is referring to. Every time she sees Alex, her heart jumps into her throat. She finds herself looking for the younger girl in crowds, her pulse spiking any time she sees pink pre-wrap. She’s determined not to catch feelings though. She’s doesn’t want to ruin what they have now, and she is very good at pushing away her feelings. Alex is her friend, nothing more.

Without their noticing, Alex enters the locker room.

“What I mean is, she’s been single for, like, two weeks now. Are you going to make a move or what?” Ashlyn says nudging Kelley in the ribs.

Alex pauses at the door, suddenly aware that she is the topic of the conversation that she just walked in on. The girl's backs are to her and she doesn’t know whether to try to quietly back out of the room, or just head to her locker and pretend like she can’t hear them. Instead, she stands stock still at the door, frozen in place.

“First of all, two weeks really isn’t that long.” Kelley starts, to which Ashlyn rolls her eyes. “Secondly, Alex is straight. And she is my friend, nothing more. I swear things aren’t like that between us. You know me, I’d make a move if I wanted to, but I swear I don’t even like her like that.” Kelley says, hoping that denying her true feelings will help her to bury them. “Besides, it’s not your business Ash,” Kelley finishes, wanting to shut her friend up.

“Ok, ok, geez, I liked you better when you were getting laid,” Ashlyn mutters jokingly, which earns her a punch on the arm from her friend. They both turn to exit the locker room, ready to head out to practice, when they see Alex standing there in the doorway.

The two girls freeze, staring at the forward, unsure of how to react, unsure of how much the other girl heard. Kelley reaches up and rubs the back of her neck self-consciously.

“Hey, Alex, didn’t see you there” she says awkwardly.

“Oh, yeah, I um, I just came in, sorry I didn’t want to interrupt.” Alex mumbles her way through the sentence, feeling her cheeks burning profusely. The three stand in awkward silence for a moment longer.

“Well then... see you out on the field!” Ashlyn says, grabbing Kelley by the arm and pulling her through the door past the still immobile forward, eager to escape the tense locker-room.

Even after her teammates have left, Alex hasn’t moved, feeling crushed at Kelley’s words. She knows she shouldn’t be so surprised. Kelley doesn’t even know she likes girls, so why would she be interested? And Alex has seen the girls who were on Kelley’s roster, they were all stunningly gorgeous, she couldn’t live up to that. But it still hurts nonetheless.

For some reason, Alex thought they were developing something, something that may have toed the line of friendship. Maybe Kelley was just flirty that way with everyone. Maybe she looked at everyone with that glint in her eye. Maybe Alex was nothing special to her at all.

Alex sits down at the bench in front of her locker, rubbing her hands through her face to keep from crying. She takes a deep breath in, knowing she must collect herself before she heads out to practice.


	7. Cabin Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex invites Kelley to her cabin

* * *

_218 Days Before_

“Hey Kel, question?”

“Yes?” Kelley says looking up from her textbook. Alex is lying on Kelley’s bed in her apartment as they study together.

“Do you ski?”

“No I’ve never been. Not much snow in Georgia,” Kelley shrugs her shoulders, “I went snowboarding once when I was like thirteen, though.”

“Ok, yeah that makes sense." Alex says, "Over Thanksgiving I was talking with my parents and they said I could invite a few friends out to our cabin in Vail. I was thinking you and Christen and Allie could come, and then maybe my friends from high school, Syd and Tobin. You’d love them. I know it’s short notice but, would you maybe want to come out for New Year’s Eve? My parents are willing to pay for everyone’s flights if that’s an issue. My mom thinks I could use a girl’s trip to get over Serv or something.” Alex says rolling her eyes.

“Oh my gosh, really? Yes! That would be so fun! I’ll just have to check with my parents, but I’m sure if we win the Cup my dad will be so happy for us that he’ll say ‘yes’ to just about anything.” Kelley squeals, jumping in excitement.

“Well, we’ll just have to win that trophy then, won’t we?”

\--

_208 Days Before_

It is the night before the championship game, and Kelley is beyond anxious. They’ve prepared all season for this moment but she can’t help the nerves that course through her body. She doesn’t know if she has ever wanted anything more in her life. She can tell her teammates feel the same way. Although they’ve had an amazing season so far and they are confident in their abilities, they can’t help the restless energy that surrounds them.

In their hotel room, Kelley can barely keep still. She sits on her bed trying to read one of her textbooks to keep her mind off the events of the next day, but her thoughts wander back to soccer nearly every other sentence. She’s been on edge all night, and in dire need of a distraction.

As if on cue, Alex walks out of the bathroom, a towel tight around her body, hair hanging damp and wavy against her skin. It’s definitely not the first time that Kelley has seen Alex in a towel, they share a locker room after all. But for some reason, this time, Kelley can’t help but stare.

Alex’s shower hair is _doing_ something to her, it makes the girl look strikingly bare, but insanely hot at the same time. Kelley internally scolds herself for having such inappropriate thoughts about her friend. This is definitely not the time. She attempts to drag her eyes away, but is not quite able to do so before making eye contact with Alex. Shit, she’s been caught.

“What’s wrong Kelley? You look pale.” Alex asks genuinely, knitting her eyebrows together cutely, as she always does when she is worried.

“Nothing, just nervous for the game, you know.” Kelley says stumbling on her words. Sure that a blush will soon be crawling up her neck, she turns to look away from Alex.

“Me, too,” Alex says softly, “but I believe in us. We’re going to win this thing.”

_207 Days Before_

And they do win. Alex scores off an assist from Kelley to tie the game in the 70th minute, and Christen finishes the game off with a spectacular 85th minute goal to crown the team as National Champions. The girls celebrated like they never had before. The locker room and the party after are like a scene out of a movie, and the hangovers the next day are well worth it.

And Kelley was right, her dad happily granted her permission to spend New Year’s Eve with Alex in Vail.

\--

_186 Days Before_

“Hey superstar.” Kelley says carelessly dragging her suitcase behind her as she runs up to her friend and wraps her in a hug. Alex had graciously agreed to pick her up at the Denver airport.

“How was the flight? I missed you, weirdo.” Alex says fondly, extending away from the shorter girl, but not yet releasing her. Their faces are close, and if Kelley concentrated she could smell Alex’s sweet shampoo.

“I missed you so much too. The flight was alright, the kid sitting behind me kicked my seat half the time, but I’m here now.” Kelley says smiling at Alex, eying her a moment longer than necessary.

“Ahem..” The girls turn around to the sound of a cleared throat. Standing there are two pretty girls that Kelley doesn’t recognize, but assumes are with Alex.

“Oh yeah, Kelley, these are my friends from high school that I told you about, Syd and Tobin,” Alex says pointing at each girl accordingly.

“Her _b_ _est_ friends.” The one who is Syd pointedly corrects Alex and gives Kelley a quick once-over with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s nice to meet you." Tobin says, a lopsided grin gracing her face, "Alex has told us _all_ about you. She won’t shut up about you actually.” 

“Oh yeah, she’s kind of obsessed with me or something.” Kelley jokes, earning her a slap on the arm from Alex.

The girls wait a while longer at the airport for Christen and Allie’s flights to arrive, and once they do, they get into Alex’s car and head through the mountains to her cabin. Upon arrival, Kelley gasps at the sight of the enormous and beautiful home in front of her.

“Alex you didn’t tell me you were rich?”

“I’m not, this is my parent’s house.” She responds humbly, tilting her head away in embarrassment.

“Oh, so your parents are rich, that’s like the same thing.” Kelley says rolling her eyes. Sometimes Alex seems to leave out the most important details.

“My parents wished they could be here this weekend to celebrate with us, but they’re home in Diamond Bar for a friend’s birthday party, so we have the place to ourselves.” Alex says with a mischievous gleam in her eye, “There are three rooms upstairs, I was thinking Syd and Tobin you guys can take one, Chris and Allie you two can room together, and me and Kel will take the last one?” Alex suggests, turning to Kelley, "I missed my unofficial roommate," She says, a soft smile playing at the corner of her lips. Everyone agrees to the rooming situation, but not before Allie mutters something about being replaced under her breath. 

After getting settled in their rooms, Alex gives her friends a tour of the place, and then suggests they hit the slopes.

“I’m kind of nervous, I haven’t been snowboarding in forever,” Kelley says.

“That’s ok, Alex and Syd aren’t that good either. They’re total ski bunnies, all they care about is how good they look while they’re out there,” Tobin says playfully jabbing at her friends, earning her a scoff from Alex, and a “you’re not wrong” from Syd followed by a hair flip.

As it turns out, Kelley is actually very good at snowboarding, maybe it has something to do with how much it reminds her of surfing.

“Do you have to be good at everything?” Alex asks in faux annoyance.

“Only because it makes you so angry,” Kelley replies smugly.

The girls spend the night in, drinking spiked hot chocolate and watching rom-coms. Kelley is sure she hasn’t had this much fun in her life.

\--

_185 Days Before_

It’s New Year’s Eve, and the girl’s spend the day on the mountain skiing and snowboarding until they are exhausted. When they arrive back at the cabin, night has fallen.

They drink a glass of wine for each hour they get closer to midnight. Kelley bonds easily with Tobin over their shared love of surfing, and Kelley finds herself laughing uncontrollably at Syd’s ridiculous stories. Alex was right, her friends are pretty cool.

At one point, Alex disappears upstairs for a few minutes, returning in a skimpy light blue bikini, and asking Kelley if she wants to join her in the hot tub. Of course Kelley can’t say no, especially with how the younger girl looks, all long legs, and a smoothed toned stomach that have her head spinning, and she knows it’s not from the alcohol.

They dip in, sitting a few feet apart, the heat of the tub creating a crisp contrast to the cold night air. Snowflakes flurry lightly around them, melting on contact with the steaming water.

They talk for a while, making one another giggle, until the conversation takes on a more-serious tone.

“Isn’t it crazy that we used to hate each other and now we are best friends?” Alex asks, tilting her head back and relaxing further into the water.

“Whoa, who said we are best friends?” Kelley counters with an amused grin.

“You’re an ass.” Ales says sending a small splash the other girl’s way.   
“I’m kidding, Al, you know you’re my best friend. I’ve really never had a friend like you,” Kelley says, emotion slipping into her voice as she turns to face the younger girl. She pauses, then ventures further, “You know, I would have hated me too, if I were you. What I did to Emily wasn’t right, I feel terrible about it. I never meant for her to fall for me like that.”

“Yes, but how could she not?” Alex asks. The tone of her voice is neutral and stable, rendering it difficult for Kelley to read, and she wonders if she is joking. Alex slides a foot closer to the older girl, slowly, to avoid splashing, and looks at her beneath long lashes.

Alex is feeling especially brave.

Kelley, not so much.

Was Alex flirting with her? The thought makes her heart tumble maddeningly in her chest and she’d be surprised if Alex couldn’t hear it.

Kelley reaches out a timid hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Alex’s ear, never breaking eye contact.

In that moment she wonders what her best friends lips might taste like, even guessing the texture of her tongue. But she quickly stops herself. Alex is her best friend, she can’t ruin this. And more importantly, Alex is straight, she won’t feel the same way. She’s most likely completely overthinking Alex’s words and misconstruing them. If she acts on this feeling in her stomach, she could wreck things between them, and then nothing would ever be the same. She just gained Alex as a best friend, she can’t lose her now.

Kelley blinks long and slow, looking deliberately between each of Alex’s eyes, which reflect more grey than ever in the silvery glow of the moon. Despite the alcohol she ingested earlier, in this moment, she feels shockingly sober.

“Al—” Kelley says, but no words follow. Something about the other girl makes her at a loss for words.

Alex is leaning in so close that she thinks, if she wanted, she could count each freckle on Kelley’s nose. She wonders if she’ll ever get the chance to.

Kelley’s mind is in overdrive, and she can tell she has taken too long to respond.

“—she deserves better than me is all.”

She says abruptly tearing her eyes from Alex’s warm gaze, and leaning away from the other girl. She knows somehow this conversation is no longer about Emily. She wonders if Alex can sense so too.

“Kelley?” Alex says in a whisper, and it’s a question that begs for eye contact, yet Kelley can’t bring herself to look up. But, before the freckled girl can even think to respond, the patio door opens suddenly.

“Hey guys! Get in here, it’s almost midnight!” Allie yells through the doorway, oblivious to the scene unfolding in the hot tub.

“Guess, that’s our cue,” Kelley says, saved by the bell. She climbs eagerly out of the water, before offering a hasty hand down to help her friend.

\--

_184 Days Before_

They count down the seconds to the New Year, and Kelley plasters a smile on her face, although she feels sick to her stomach. Once the clock winds down, Alex gives a cliché toast, eyes twinkling,

“To a new year, full of new adventures, new ambitions, new love, and old friends,” the girls raise their glasses and clink them happily.

After a few minutes, Tobin and Christen sneak off, having seemed to taken a special interest in one another, to which the remaining girls trade teasing smirks.

“I think I’m actually going to head up to bed too, I’m not feeling too well,” Kelley says.

“Oh ok, are you alright? Do you want me to come with you?” Alex asks, concern causing her eyes to squint and soften.

“No, no it’s fine, really, keep ringing in the new year.” Kelley says offering a convincing enough smile.

“Yeah, Lex, please stay a while longer,” Syd says raising an eyebrow at her friend. With that, Alex seems to release her hold on Kelley, allowing her to retreat to the peace and quiet of their bedroom.

Once the older girl has vanished up the stairs, Syd turns to Alex.

“So, Kelley, huh?”

“She’s great right? Do you like her?” Alex says coolly, seeking the approval of her oldest friend, knowing deep down that that is not what Syd was getting at.

“The real question, is do _you_ like her, Alex?” Syd says rolling her eyes. Alex knows she can’t lie to Syd, and from her tone it seems as if she already knows the truth.

“Is it that obvious?” Alex whines out, defeat in her voice.

“That you like girls or that you’re in love with Kelley?”

“I don’t know, both?”

“That you like girls, no. That you like Kelley…” Syd and Allie lock eyes, sharing a knowing look before laughing. It makes Alex anxious that her feelings seem so obvious to other people.

“Guys, shut up this is serious.”

“I mean, you aren’t very subtle, Lex,” Allie says shrugging her shoulders.

“Well apparently Kelley doesn’t think so. I heard her tell Ashlyn that she thinks I’m straight and that she can only ever think of us as friends. So I know she doesn't feel the same way.”

Again, Syd and Allie share a look.

“What?” Alex asks, slightly annoyed.

“Alex, you can’t be serious, Kelley definitely feels the same way, have you seen yourself? Have you seen the way she looks at you?” Syd asks, not believing her friend’s naivety, “I mean, I just met the girl, so forgive me if I’m wrong, but she definitely has a thing for you. She sure as hell doesn’t look at Allie with heart eyes like that.”

“She gave up her roster for you, Alex. that has to mean something.” Allie says nodding along.

Alex can’t believe this, and she says so. After a few minutes of arguing back and forth, Alex has not budged on her position.

“Ok, well, you should at least let Kelley know that you are interested in girls.” Allie says.

“I can’t do that, I’m not ready,” Alex says, her voice fragile.

“Then why don’t you try dropping hints? You don’t have to be too obvious about it, but I think it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

\--

Upstairs, Kelley lays awake, thoughts racing through her mind, causing sleep to elude her. She recognizes this feeling. She knew she was too late, she hadn’t had time to catch herself. Instead she had fallen completely for her best friend. She doesn’t quite know the moment it happened. Maybe it was last week when Alex laughed so hard at Kelley’s joke that she started crying, or maybe it was a month ago when she had a cold and Alex brought her her favorite soup. Or maybe it built up over every time that Alex sent her a text ending in that damn smiley face that made Kelley’s heart flutter. Maybe it was even that first day they met, who knows.

Kelley had spent so long pushing away and shoving down her feelings that she couldn’t quite tell when it happened, But she knows now that she had certainly caught feelings for her friend, and she was scared to death of messing things up. Since when had she become so afraid of rejection? Why did the thought of losing Alex as a friend frighten her to her core? Why did the younger girl have her breaking so many of her rules? Kelley asks herself, mentally scratching off another rule from her list, internally rolling her eyes at how soft the other girl was making her. She really need to be more careful, otherwise she would end up getting hurt.

_~~Rule #2: Never catch feelings~~ _

Sometime much later, she at last falls into an uneasy slumber, the blue-grey abyss of Alex’s eyes swallowing her whole.

\--

In the morning, Kelley rolls over to find Alex lying next to her, slowly coming out of her sleep as well.

“Did you have any good dreams?” Alex asks, a sleepy rasp in her voice and dopey smile on her face.

In the moment, Kelley can’t help the way her heart swells, brimming with affection for the other girl. She knows she is way past the feelings stage. Hell, she didn’t even have the chance to catch them, they simply smacked her in the face.

She responds yes to Alex’s question, the corners of her eyes crinkling into a grin of her own, heart aching as she wishes she could instead say,

‘All I have are dreams of you’


	8. Truth or Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Kelley play a game of truth or dare

* * *

_164 Days Before_

“Hey Kel, can we talk?” Christen asks as she leans against the door frame of her roommate’s bedroom.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Kelley says. She turns off her music and turns away from her textbook, inviting her friend into the room.

“It’s about Alex.” Christen says.

Kelley’s stomach drops. It has been a month since New Year’s Eve, and Kelley has been ignoring her friend ever since. It was easy while they were still on holiday break and Kelley was back home in Georgia. She could easily be aloof in her responses to Alex’s texts, and blame missed Facetime calls on spending time with her family. But in the two weeks since she had returned to campus, she’d been carefully avoiding the other girl. It’s not as if she stopped contact with Alex altogether, that would be impossible. Kelley was just careful to make sure that they didn’t hang out alone and that her texts were short and concise. She refrained from engaging in their usual banter and tried her best not to display any special attention toward the other girl as she tried to navigate her feelings.

If she was honest, she needed space to think, and she was afraid that if she spent too much time with Alex she would accidentally slip up and do something that would ruin their friendship. She didn’t trust herself to be simply platonic. She just needed to find a way to get this crush under control so that she could continue being friends with Alex, but it was hard when she couldn’t stop thinking about the other girl. It pained her to ignore her best friend, but she had to do this to save their friendship.

“What about Alex?” Kelley says, begging her voice to remain neutral.

“Did something happen between you two?” Christen asks. Kelley can see the worry etched across her roommate’s features.

“No, not that I can think of,” Kelley answers slowly, and she knows it’s a lie, the words sounding so desperately lame falling from her mouth.

Christen’s eyebrows raise slightly in disbelief “it’s just… Alex asked me if I knew why you were avoiding her, and I guess I don’t really know why you are.”

“She asked you that?” Kelley looks up guiltily.

“Yeah, she said she doesn’t know what she did wrong, and honestly she seems pretty upset about it.” Christen pauses, noticing the way Kelley tenses at her words. “Kel, what’s going on? You know you can tell me anything.” She says, tilting her head to the side, concern laced in her voice. Now Kelley feels _really_ guilty. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt anyone, especially Alex.

“I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Kelley groans, placing her head in her hands. “I think that I might, maybe, sort of _,_ like Alex. Like in a more than friends way.” She mumbles out.

“You _think?”_ Christen says, and she has to concentrate not to laugh, instead letting a small smile cross her lips.

“Ok, I _know_ I like her _.”_ Kelley says, raising her hands in exasperation, a pained expression on her face.

“Well I’m glad you finally figured it out.” Christen says with a playful eye roll. “But I don’t really see why that would make you ignore her. Wouldn’t you want to do the opposite?”

“Because, she’s my _friend,_ Chris. I promised I wouldn’t catch feelings for another teammate, let alone one of my best friends. I’m trying to save our friendship, but I can’t help the way I feel when I see her. She’s making me so stupidly soft. So I have to avoid her, at least for now until I can figure this out.” Kelley say and her voice shrinks with her words, small and fragile, so unlike the Kelley that Christen knows and loves.

Christen’s eyes soften.

“Kelley, do you want my honest opinion?”

“Yes, definitely.”

“You need to get rid of your stupid rules.” She says. “Honestly, you’ve been letting your relationship and break up with Ann control you for far too long. She’s not even physically in your life anymore but she still has so much emotional power over you. She’s made you so distrusting of your feelings and you’re so afraid of having your heart broken that you don’t even try. Instead you just push people away.”

Kelley bristles at her friend’s words, knowing there is truth in them, but even so, that doesn’t make it easier to hear.

“Don’t you trust Alex?” Christen asks.

“Of course I do.”

“Then what are you afraid of?”

Kelley pauses.

“I’m scared, Chris. I’m terrified that it will ruin what we have now because she won’t feel the same way. Then things will get all awkward and I’ll lose my best friend.” Her voice sounds near its breaking point, teetering on the edge of emotion. She swallows hard and continues, “Alex is straight. And even if she wasn’t, how could she possibly like me? Especially considering my past with girls. She wouldn’t want me.”

“Come on Kelley,” Christen says shaking her head, “You have one of the best gaydars I’ve ever seen, do you _really_ believe that she doesn’t like girls? Really? She's oddly obsessed with Taylor Swift, and she cuffs her jeans for God's sake.”

Kelley laughs, admitting that some of Alex’s tendencies did scream ‘I like girls.’ But she didn’t want to stereotype or be overly hopeful in analyzing her friend’s behavior.

“And if you’re worried Alex won’t like you because you slept with a lot of girls—"

“Hey!” Kelley says indignantly.

“I’m just saying!” Christen says putting her hands up in defense. “But if that’s what you’re worried about, Kel, you’re not that person anymore. You’ve changed, and it is at least a little bit because of Alex. Ever since she got here you’ve been different, I mean, I haven’t even seen a random girl come out of your room for at least three months.” Christen says and her and Kelley share smiles. “I think Alex makes you want to be a better person, doesn’t she? I can see it. Everyone can see it.” Christen says softly.

“But what if I make a move, and she doesn’t feel the same way and we can’t be friends anymore because it’s just too weird? Then what?” Kelley says, still doubtful at her friend’ insinuations.

“Listen, I can’t promise you that Alex feels the same way, I don’t know for sure how she feels. But I do know that she really cares about you as a friend. You need to give her more credit. You two have become so close and you really think she would just kick you to the curb if she found out you like her? C’mon, you know Alex better than that.”

Kelley ponders Christen’s words, wondering if her friend is right.

“But seriously, you can’t keep ignoring her forever, it’s clearly hurting you and it’s hurting her.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Kelley says after a contemplative minute, upset at herself for not handling her feelings with more maturity.

“I know.” Christen smiles and gives her friend a tight hug.

\--

_161 Days Before_

Kelley is nervous when she finally spots Alex across the room. Ashlyn and Pinoe are throwing a party, and Kelley hopes that the atmosphere and alcohol might help her to talk with Alex. She’s been thinking a lot in the past few days about Christen’s advice, but she doesn’t know how she should approach the situation. Should she act as if nothing had happened ? How is she supposed to address the situation without either lying or admitting her feelings? She wants so desperately to ease the tension but she isn’t quite sure how to do so.

On the opposite side of the room, Alex stands talking with Allie and a small group of their friends around the beer pong table, looking strikingly attractive in her plain blue crop top and black ripped jeans. Her hair is straightened, falling loosely past her shoulders. Kelley watches intently as the younger girl throws her head back, laughing at something Allie says, and playfully hitting the blonde on the shoulder, other hand gripped tightly around a plastic cup. From here, Kelley thinks she can just make out the sparkling eyes that have frequented her daydreams. More blue than grey today. The crinkles forming at the corners of them as she giggles along make Kelley’s stomach churn. She wishes it was her that was making Alex so happy.

At that moment, Alex looks up, making direct eye contact with Kelley. Knowing she’s been caught staring, the defender feels a heated blush creep onto her cheeks. She tries her best to throw a casual wave the other girl’s way, adding a beaming smile for good measure, hoping it is a step towards normal. Alex stares back at her friend for a split second, before she offers back a small and tight-lipped smile of her own, one that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Kelley’s throat feels as if it is freezing over, her heart hurting. But she isn’t necessarily surprised. She had been the one ignoring Alex after all, and at some point, the other girl had the right to be cold back to her. If she felt guilty before, she felt so now more than ever.

\--

A few hours later, Kelley finds herself in a bedroom with a handful of her teammates, Christen and Allie included, and a few other random party-goers engaged in a half-hearted game of truth or dare. So far, the game has been quite innocent, the players becoming distracted every so often by conversation.

Kelley sits on the floor legs crossed and directly across from Alex. The younger girl has been avoiding her gaze all night, and now is no different. She’s decided that she should ask Alex to talk once the party dies down a bit more, determined to smooth things over with her best friend.

“Kelley your turn, truth or dare?”

“Hmm…” Kelley says, looking down to her cup and swishing the contents around, “dare.”

“I dare you to kiss Alex.”

Kelley’s heart stops. Her eyes immediately dart to Alex to gauge her reaction. She finds the forward staring sharply back at her. For a second, her mind goes blank, her thoughts frozen in panic.

“No, no, I’m not doing that.” Kelley says shaking her head back and forth, offering a weak laugh, which she hopes passes for casual.

As many times as she has imagined the other girl’s lips on hers, she won’t let their first kiss be on a dare. Especially not with other people watching. Things have been weird between them, and this is definitely not the way to make things less awkward.

“C’mon” “Just a peck!” “Do it, you can’t back out of a dare or else you have to leave the game.”

The other members of the room attempt to persuade her. Kelley just shakes her head, trying to laugh off the situation. She looks around the room for help, eventually making eye contact with Christen, silently willing her friend to avert the attention.

“Kelley, come on you’ve kissed like half the people at this party, stop being a chicken.” Pinoe says, and Kelley turns to send a glare to her teammate.

At this point, Alex stands abruptly, storming out of the room before anyone can say anything. Everyone at once becomes silent, eyes turning to focus on Kelley. Pinoe give her an apologetic look. Allie sends a heated scowl her way, and Christen frowns sympathetically. 

Kelley, stands at once, following Alex out of the room. In the hallway, the girl is nowhere to be seen.

She jogs down the hall, spotting Alex heading out onto the balcony off the kitchen.

“Alex, wait! Please!” Kelley yells, following after the other girl. She steps out onto the balcony into the cool night air, closing the door behind her. They are alone in the space, Alex with her back to Kelley, leaning against the railing looking out over the backyard.

“Alex?” Kelley says softly.

“What do you want Kelley?” Alex says, anger in her voice, yet she doesn’t turn around.

“I just want to talk.”

“Oh so now you want to talk?” Alex says, irritation dripping in her voice, making Kelley recoil slightly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you, it’s just, I didn’t know what to say.”

“What do you mean you 'didn’t know what to say'? You haven’t said more than two full sentences to me since New Year’s Eve, and I have no clue what I even did wrong.” Alex says, her voice now watery, and Kelley can tell the other girl is crying. She takes another step towards her, reaching a hand out to her friend, hovering over her shoulder, hesitant to make contact.

“Al, you didn’t do anything wrong—” Kelley starts, voice low and soft.

“And to top it off, you embarrass me in front of a room full of people!” Alex says spinning around to face Kelley, eyes glowing with anger, yet brimming with tears. At once, Kelly drops her hand to her side, stricken by Alex’s expression.

Alex continues, “Like Pinoe said, you’ve probably kissed half the girls at this party, yet you refused to even look at me for more than three seconds! I know you don’t like me like that, I get it, but am I so repulsive that you won’t even kiss me in a stupid game of truth or dare?!” Alex is shouting now, tears streaking down her cheeks.

“Alex—” Kelley says searching for the right words. In the seconds that follow, the look on her friend’s face turns from scorching anger to utter anguish. It makes Kelley’s heart break.

“You’re not repulsive Al, you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever met.” Kelley says softly. She takes a step forward towards Alex, closing the distance between them in half. She reaches a hand up to wipe a tear from Alex’s chin with the back of her hand.

“And it’s not because I don’t like you that I didn’t want to kiss you. It’s because I do.” Kelley says, voice timid and shy. Alex’s eyes connect with hers, a question flashing in them, but before Kelley can read the look, Alex’s eyelids flutter closed, and her face is rushing towards her. Their lips collide hastily, and the sensation is much sweeter than Kelley had anticipated.

Alex’s lips are soft, and move gently, tentatively against her own. She reaches behind the other girl, placing her hands on her hips, pulling her closer and eliminating the distance between their bodies. Alex’s hands find their way up Kelley’s shoulders, interlocking behind her neck, making the hairs there stand on end. Alex nudge's the defender's nose with her own, sending a hot breath tingling onto Kelley's lips. Her tongue moves deftly, soft and suggestive, begging entrance to Kelley's mouth. Their tongues brush slowly, sending shivers down Kelley's spine At once, she is overwhelmed with sensations. The taste of Alex's lips, the smell of her shampoo, the feeling of the inside of her mouth, all clouding Kelley's nervous system.

After a few seconds, Kelley tilts away resentfully, but in need of air. She places her forehead against Alex’s, a cheeky smile splitting her face.

“So what was this you were saying? You have a huge crush on me or something?” Alex smirks.

“Shut up.” Kelley says, rolling her eyes, but the words couldn’t be more affectionate. In the back of her mind, she happily crosses off her third rule.

~~Rule #3: Teammates are off-limits~~


	9. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Kelley go on their first date

* * *

_150 Days Before_

“Earth to Kelley.” Alex says waving a hand in her friend’s face.

As soon as Kelley had the chance, she asked Alex out on a proper date. However, now, in the car on the way to said date, Kelley was suddenly full of nerves.

“What?” Kelley says, slightly shaking her head and snapping to attention. “Oh sorry, I was just lost in thought.”

Alex places a hand on Kelley’s knee to stop it from shaking as they sit at a red light.

“I just asked if you’ve ever been to this restaurant before.” Alex says. Kelley had picked out a sit-down restaurant just outside of campus for their first date, not too formal, not too casual.

“Oh, um, no I haven’t.” Kelley says, eyes locked on the road in front of her. Her fingers tap out an unsteady rhythm against the steering wheel.

“Kelley what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Kelley says out of instinct, then sighs, backtracking “To be honest, I’m just a little nervous.” She runs a hand through her hair. “I haven’t been on a real date in a long time.”

Alex laughs, “Kel, we went out to dinner like two weeks ago. This time isn’t any different.”

“I know, I know, I just care about you a lot and want you to have a good time, okay?” Kelley admits, still not able to make direct eye contact with the other girl.

“Listen, I already like you, and you’re my best friend, so I’m sure I’ll have a great time, just relax, alright? I’m the one who kissed you, remember?” Alex says, eyebrows arching playfully. They pull into a parking space, and Kelley looks over to Alex, the younger girl’s calm demeanor setting her at ease.

“Okay, we get it, you made the first move.” Kelley says rolling her eyes, but laughing, nonetheless.

“You’re damn right I did.” Alex nods, smirking, as she gives Kelley’s knee a soft squeeze and a pat.

\--

Alex was right, their first date was just like every other time they hung out, just this time there was a lot more flirty physical contact. They spent the majority of the dinner making one another giggle like children as they played footsy under the table. Alex’s laugh was something Kelley thought she never wanted to stop hearing. She especially liked the way she squinted her eyes and crinkled her nose when Kelley said something ridiculous.

After Kelley insisted on paying the bill, the two walked around downtown Palo Alto, looking into shops, and talking about their classes. Alex buys them ice cream, Kelley butter pecan, herself raspberry. Kelley wonders if it really could be this easy to be with Alex. She wonders if she really could be so happy.

Without much thought, she reaches down to grab Alex’s hand into her own, yet the other girl quickly tenses up. The movement makes Kelley stop in her tracks. She turns, giving the forward a look. Alex blushes lightly, turning away from Kelley’s questioning gaze.

“I’m sorry, I’m just not really into PDA.” Alex says quietly.

“That’s ok.” Kelley says, a knot forming in her stomach. She drops Alex’s hand. “Is it because I’m a girl?”

Alex’s blush deepens. “No. Yes. I don’t know.” Alex says stumbling on her words. “You’re the first girl I’ve ever dated, so it’s just new to me.”

“I understand.” Kelley says, nodding. She remembers all too well what it was like to first come out in her conservative hometown in Georgia. She definitely doesn’t want to push Alex out of her comfort zone.

“I’m sorry, I promise I’m not embarrassed to be with you. I have no clue why I reacted like that, you just caught me off guard—" Alex rambles.

“Alex, seriously, you don’t need to explain. I get it.”

“Really?” Alex says.

“Yes, really.” Kelley smiles reassuringly.

Alex grabs for Kelley’s hand, interlocking their fingers, “Will you still hold my hand even though I flinched like an idiot?”

“Of course.” Kelley says, her smile stretching wide across her face. Her heart flutters endlessly, as she tries to memorize the feeling of Alex’s skin against her own.

The two continue strolling lazily through the downtown area, content to spend time in each other’s company. They stay long after the sun sets and the air turns cold, neither wanting the date to end, but after Kelley sees Alex yawn for the third time, she suggests they head home.

When they arrive at Alex’s apartment, Kelley walks the younger girl to her door.

“Wow, so chivalrous.” Alex jokes.

“It’s just part of my southern charm, Ms. Morgan.” Kelley says laying on a thick southern accent. Alex smiles, shaking her head at the shorter girl.

“Do you want to come in?” She asks, nodding at the door behind her.

“On our very first date?” Kelley says continuing on in her drawl as she fakes shock and places a hand over her heart.

“Oh shut up, don’t act as if you haven’t already slept in my bed.” Alex retorts.

Kelley laughs. “Alex, as much as I would love to come in and sleep with you, I really think we should take things slow. I just don’t want to mess this up.” Kelley says, motioning between them as she speaks.

Alex doesn’t say anything for a moment, just gazes intently at Kelley, as if planning her next move. She leans in, planting a slow and longing kiss on her mouth. She pulls at Kelley’s bottom lip with her teeth, nipping at her playfully.

“Are you sure?” Alex asks, her voice so smooth and innocent, but eyes dark and suggestive.

“You’re making it very hard to say no.” Kelley hums into the taller girl’s mouth. Her lips taste deliciously sweet.

“Then say yes.” Alex says breathily. And with that, Kelley nearly caves, she grips tightly to Alex’s hips, but pushes herself slightly away as something in the back of her mind forces her to scrounge up some resolve.

“I really want to, I had a great time with you tonight, but I think it’s best if I just head home.”

Alex groans, “Ok, fine, if you say so.” She pouts. “Since when did you become so responsible?”

Kelley laughs, “I have my moments.”

\--

When Kelley returns home, she finds Christen waiting awake for her.

“So how was it?” Christen asks excitedly.

“Like a dream.” Kelley gushes, and she realizes that her cheeks have never hurt so much from smiling, yet she welcomes the feeling nonetheless.

\--

_140 Days Before_

Kelley had never been that into Valentine’s Day. She always thought it was pretty overrated. However, now that Alex was in her life, she found herself looking forward to the day, planning things to do and even thinking of gifts to give the other girl. She stopped herself from getting too carried away, after all, they technically hadn’t even put a label on things quite yet. So she decided on getting Alex flowers (white lilies, her favorite), and making a reservation at a nice vegetarian restaurant across town. She had told Alex it was a surprise, and giddily awaited her reaction to the place.

Since their last date, Alex and Kelley had hung out consistently, but Kelley was always careful to make sure that things didn’t go too far. Kelley was worried that if they progressed too quickly and then Alex suddenly realized that she in fact did not like Kelley, that it would leave her heartbroken. She trusted that Alex wouldn’t do something to intentionally hurt her, but she still reflexively felt the need to guard her heart. So as much as she desperately wanted to move things along more quickly, she refrained.

Still, she wondered if it even mattered how much she tried to stop herself from falling too hard. Maybe she was already too far gone anyway.

“Hello?”

“Kelley, you are going to hate me.” Alex says into the phone.

“I doubt that. Why, what’s up?” She says, worry starting to creep into her mind.

“I have a terrible cold and I don't think I'm able to get out of bed. I’m so sorry I’m going to have to cancel our date.” Alex says sadly, and Kelley can hear the congestion in her voice.

Kelley breathes, a sigh of relief, her thoughts having escalated to the worst extreme as she awaited Alex’s response.

“That’s ok, why don’t I come over and make you dinner? How does chicken noodle soup sound?”

“You’d do that for me?” Alex asks, raspy voice scraping against her throat.

“Of course. See you in a half an hour?” Kelley says.

\--

Kelley arrives at Alex’s apartment, handing over the flowers she got her.

“For you, Superstar.” She says with a wink.

“Kel, you didn’t have to.” Alex says, a dopey smile gracing her face. She can tell Alex must be really under the weather, all puffy eyes, and rubbed-raw nose.

Kelley walks in and sets down a grocery bag on the kitchen counter, “I know I didn’t have to,” she rolls her eyes, “but I wanted to.” She crosses the room to give Alex a hug, “Sorry you aren’t feeling very well.”

“I’m feeling a lot better now that you're here.” Alex says smirking.

“Gross, Alex. That made me cringe.” Allie says entering the room. Kelley and Alex shyly take a step back from one another. “So what’s for dinner?” Allie says motioning towards the groceries on the table.

“I’m going to make _Alex_ chicken noodle soup.” Kelley says. “Don’t you have plans with Bati or something?”

“Sheesh, trying to kick me out of my own place already, O’Hara?” Allie says laughing, “You’re right though, I’m leaving for the night, so you two lovebirds can have some alone time.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, causing Alex and Kelley to trade looks and blush. “Although, this one’s been doped up on cold medicine all day, so not sure how long she’ll last.” Allie says.

Once Allie leaves, Kelley sets to work making their dinner. As she stirs the pot, Alex latches onto her from behind, wrapping her arms low around her waist, and setting her head on her shoulder.

“I want to kiss you so badly right now, but I don’t want to get you sick,” Alex pouts, whispering into Kelley’s ear, and nuzzling against her sweater.

Kelley’s stomach churns at the contact. She turns, planting a kiss on Alex’s forehead, “Don’t worry, we’ll kiss plenty when you’re feeling better.”

Once they finish eating, they settle onto the couch, turning on a cheesy romantic film. Allie was right, Alex didn't last long, and before the movie was even halfway through, she fell asleep, head leaning against Kelley’s shoulder. She doesn’t want to stare, yet Kelley can’t help but study the taller girl’s side-profile, so peaceful in her slumber. She slowly traces the slope of her nose and the curves of her lips. She can’t decide whether she looks more beautiful asleep or awake. It makes something bubble warmly in her chest, something that she isn't quite ready to confront. 

As the night crawls on, Kelley’s arm has gone numb underneath Alex, yet she is afraid to move and wake the girl, she knows she needs her rest. But it is getting rather late, and she should return home soon. So she moves her arm slowly away from Alex, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, whispering her name.

Alex slowly comes to her senses, looking around the room with half-lidded eyes.

“Let’s get you to bed, alright?”

Alex follows Kelley to her room, a throw blanket from the couch wrapped around her shoulders.

Alex collapses on her bed, sleep still hazing over her eyes.

“Will you stay?”

Her voice is sweet, child-like, and this time Kelley can’t say no. So she nods, crawling into the space next to her. Alex will probably fall asleep soon anyway, she rationalizes.

Kelley settles into the soft pillows, and she quite likes the way she can feel warmth radiating from Alex mere inches away from her.

Despite not going as planned, Kelley thinks this must be her best Valentine’s Day yet.

\--

_126 Days Before_

They are at a party, and the whole night, Alex has been eying Kelley seductively, almost as if she is challenging her to something, playing some sort of game. Kelley eyes her back because Alex is looking beyond hot, tight jeans hugging all the right curves, hair flowing in waves over her shoulders.

When Kelley sees Alex sneak off to a room, she follows readily.

Once inside, Alex pushes her against the door, kissing her hungrily, roughly. It is unlike Alex to be so aggressive, but Kelley isn’t complaining. She can taste the alcohol, sickly sweet on the other girl’s lips, and she wonders just how much she has had to drink. They continue to kiss, Kelley exploring Alex’s mouth with her tongue, although by now it has become more familiar. Alex pushes away from Kelley, walking toward the bed. She reaches down to the hem of her shirt, lifting it up and above her head, revealing a plain black bra. She unbuttons her jeans, shimmying them down her body, until she is left in just her underwear. She takes another step towards the bed, leaning back onto it, arms behind her. Kelley stares, looking up and down Alex’s body quickly, taking in the scene in front of her. Alex reaches out her hand, “Kelley, come here.”

Kelley steps forward, swallowing thickly as she moves to stand between Alex’s legs. She brushes a hair back from the forward’s face, tucking it behind her ear. Alex leans up to suck on the shorter girl’s neck lightly.

“Kelley, I’m ready. I want you to fuck me.” She says.

Kelley stands stock still. She hesitates before responding. She had thought of this moment many, _many,_ times, and this was definitely not how it went. Not in some stranger’s bed, not when Alex is drunk, not so _unromantic._ Kelley puts her hands on Alex’s shoulders and pushes back so she can see into the girls eyes. They are hopeful, but also slightly obscured, not quite sober. She wants this so badly with Alex, but not now, not like this. So she says so.

“Al, come on, I don’t think this is the time or place, you’re drunk—”

The clear blue skies of Alex’s eyes cloud over and narrow. Her eyebrows furrow in sudden anger.

“Jesus Christ Kelley, what the hell are we even doing then? I’m not your girlfriend and I’m not even someone you want to have sex with apparently!” She says, voice raising in volume. “I guess I’m just someone you kiss when you feel like it.”

“Alex, you know that’s not true.” Kelley says, trying to calm the other girl down. She places her hand over Alex’s cheek softly, rubbing her jaw with her thumb.

Alex’s face softens, saddening.

“You’ve had sex with plenty of girls. So why them? Why not me?” The look on her face is one of a kicked puppy, and it makes Kelley’s heart break.

“Alex, listen—"

“I know you have way more experience with girls than I do. I have none. And I get it if you think I won’t be good, but I promise I’m a quick learner. I’ve been doing my research” She says, her voice rasping, all innocent and dejected.

Kelley bites her lip at how adorable the taller girl looks. So that is what Alex is worried about.

“Alex, I promise you that I really, _really,_ want to have sex with you. I just know that this is not the right time. I want it to be special. I want it to be perfect for both of us okay?” Kelley feels cheesy saying it, but she knows it is true. “Those other girls didn’t matter, they don’t mean nearly as much to me as you do. The reason I want to wait is because I _do_ like you. So, so much. You make me so happy, Al.” Kelley says, eying Alex carefully, feeling slightly vulnerable. Alex’s eyes soften tenfold. In fear of being too mushy, Kelley quickly adds, “Besides, if I didn’t like you I would have just banged you and moved on about six dates ago.” She smirks for good measure.

Alex hits her playfully on the shoulder.

“Ok, O’Hara, I get it, you are obsessed with me or something.” Alex says.

“Hey! That’s my joke!” Kelley says, and they laugh, sharing soft eyes and smiles.

_124 Days Before_

It’s a lazy Sunday, and Alex is lounging on Kelley’s couch as the other girl speaks on the phone with her parents in her room. The freckled girl comes out, a nervous smile playing on her lips.

“Hey, Al?”

“Yes?”

“So... at the end of the month, my parents are flying me home to Georgia for my mom’s 50th birthday party. They told me I could bring a friend.” She pauses.

Alex looks up and away from the book she is reading. “Oh yeah?”

“I asked if I could bring my girlfriend.” Kelley says, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth, a hopeful twinge in her voice.

Alex raises an eyebrow, “Oh, well, seeing as you don’t have one of those, I guess you’ll be traveling alone.” She says, a gleeful smirk slowly breaking out onto her face.

“You think you’re so funny, huh?” Kelley says stepping towards Alex, leaning over her and playfully poking her in the side. “Fine, Alex, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Duh.” Alex pulls the shorter girl onto her for a kiss, that quickly turns into a full-blown make out session.

Between kisses, Kelley says, “So you’ll come with me then?”

“Of course, Kel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took a little longer to write. Let me know what you think below!


	10. Hometown Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex meets Kelley's family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer this chapter features a sex scene

* * *

_104 Days Before_

Alex snaps a picture of Kelley sleeping with her mouth hanging open on the plane to Atlanta. She smiles down at her screen and stores the picture away with all the other stolen moments captured with her girlfriend. If she’s honest, she is a bit nervous to be meeting all of Kelley’s extended family in the same weekend, yet even at this early point in their relationship, she thinks she would do anything for the older girl. Kelley has also assured her that she has nothing to worry about, that her family will love her. Even still, meeting the parents is kind of a big deal to her.

When they touch down, they meet Kelley’s older sister, Erin, at baggage claim, and she greets them both with all-encompassing hugs. She looks a lot like Kelley, same toothy smile and sloping nose.

Only a few minutes after their reunion, the sisters are bickering about Kelley stealing one of Erin’s shirts and it makes Alex smile, reminding her of her own sisters at home.

Once they arrive at Kelley’s childhood home in Peachtree City, Alex is welcomed by Kelley’s parents who give her hugs just as tight as the one Erin had given her.

“It’s so lovely to meet you, Alex. Kelley has told us all about you.” Mrs. O’Hara says, eyes twinkling. Alex notes that good looks run in the family.

“Good things I hope.” Alex blushes and chuckles, “It’s so nice of you all to let me come and celebrate your special day, Mrs. O’Hara.”

“Of course! Kelley’s never brought a girl home before, so we are delighted to have you here.”

“Mom, that’s enough.” Kelley groans, but she’s unable to contain the slight smile that appears on her face.

After getting settled, Kelley suggests she take Alex on a tour of the city, wanting to show Alex what her life was like before Stanford.

“I can’t believe you guys actually drive golf carts everywhere.” Alex says shaking her head in awe. Kelley had told her stories of the peculiar transportation but she hadn’t really believed it until she saw all the other carts on the designated paths.

“Yeah, me and my friends had some crazy times on these things.” Kelley grins softly to herself, likely recounting reckless memories from her teenage years.

She shows Alex what she thinks is worthwhile, carting past Stars Mill High and its soccer pitch, the best restaurants in town, the movie theater where she had her first kiss, and the mall that she hung out at after school. The final stop is her personal favorite Peachtree City destination: the secret clearing in the woods beyond the park where she and her friends would sneak to well beyond their curfews and drink bottom-shelf liquor into the wee hours of the morning. It all makes Kelley a bit nostalgic, and retelling her favorite stories to Alex only makes her wish she had met the girl earlier.

Alex thinks it’s fascinating the way Kelley’s eyes glimmer when she thinks of her childhood and her high school years. It makes her ache to show Kelley her own home.

They later return to Kelley’s house and have a sit down dinner with the O’Hara’s. Alex can see where Kelley gets her charm and bouncy personality from. The O’Hara’s are quite the lively group. They discuss the previous soccer season, complementing Alex on her outstanding performances, to which Alex bashfully blushes and Kelley beams. Her heart is warmed at the site of her girlfriend getting along so well with her family.

After dinner, Kelley leads Alex to her childhood bedroom, up the stairs and at the end of the hall. Kelley’s parents were gracious enough to let them sleep in the same room, her mother reasoning that she was mature enough to have the privilege, her dad joking that it was fine by him since he didn’t have to worry about his daughter getting pregnant.

Alex lets her eyes travel around the room as she enters, eying the posters, trinkets and stray items as she tries to collect a sense of what a younger Kelley was like.

“Wow, I didn’t know you were such a huge Harry Potter fan” Alex smirks, motioning to the books and a pile of DVDs haphazardly stacked on Kelley’s bookshelf.

“Honestly, I kind of had a thing for Hermione.” Kelley grins sheepishly shrugging her shoulders.

“Emma Watson is a badass.” Alex agrees.

They take a seat on Kelley’s bed.

“So what do you think of my family? I know they can be a bit much.” Kelley says eying Alex intensely, as if waiting for her approval.

“Kel, I love them. Your parents are so sweet and your siblings are awesome.” Alex says happily gathering Kelley’s hands into her own. “It makes me so excited to re-introduce you to my family, you know, as my girlfriend.” Kelley had met the Morgans a handful of times at their soccer games, yet they hadn't been dating yet so she was just Alex’s teammate and friend then.

“Oh yeah? Do they know…” Kelley trails off, pausing unsure of how to ask the question. They hadn’t really discussed this before, and all of a sudden she feels self-conscious.

“That I’m dating a girl?” Alex supplies.

“Yeah, I guess that.”

“No, they don’t.” Alex says. And Kelley gets it. Sometimes it can be hard to gauge how family members will react to such news.

“But after today, I think I’m ready to tell them.” Alex smiles slightly, and it slowly becomes more confident as Kelley meets her with a mega-watt grin of her own.

_103 Days Before_

The next day, they celebrate Kelley’s mother’s birthday, and the party is a blast. Although the amount of Kelley’s family friends and relatives that Alex meets is overwhelming (she’s sure she will only remember a handful of names), Kelley proudly touts her around the party, showing her off and making sure she is comfortable. She thinks it is adorable the way Kelley has transformed into such a proper Southern belle around all her friends and family.

Alex meets Jason, Kelley’s next-door neighbor/childhood love/good family friend.

“Me and Jason, sort of dated for a while, you know before he made me realize that I definitely didn’t like boys.” Kelley says jokingly, a devilishly quirked eyebrow for good measure.

“Yeah, while I was hopelessly in love with your girlfriend here, she was out daydreaming of beautiful girls like you.” Jason laughs good-naturedly, earning him a slap on the shoulder from Kelley.

“Jason actually helped me come out to my family. If I didn’t have him, I don’t know what I would have done.” Kelley shoots her friend an affectionate smile. Alex smiles back at the scene in front of her, her heart warming at the thought of her girlfriend having so much support.

“Oh come on, don’t act like we didn’t already know.” Erin says walking into the conversation and rolling her eyes at her younger sister. They all laugh and Alex only hopes that it will go so smoothly with her own family.

_100 Days Before_

Kelley sits in Alex’s living room nervously biting at the skin around her thumbnail. She taps her foot as she waits for Alex to come out of her bedroom. She can hear light chatter through the door, but she isn’t quite be sure of what is going on.

Alex emerges, and as soon as Kelley sees her face, she exhales. She can read the relief written all over Alex’s features.

“How’d it go?” Kelley ventures as Alex takes a seat on the couch next to her. As soon as they had returned from Peachtree City, the forward was intent on telling her parents of her sexuality and new partner, so she Facetimed them the day after they touched down.

Alex breaks into a bright smile, “I could tell they were a bit surprised at first, but they were super supportive and basically said that overall they just want me to be happy.”

Kelley reaches out to the taller girl and pulls her into a hug, “Al, that’s awesome. I’m so happy for you, I knew they'd be supportive.”

“It might also help that they already love you as my friend. They think you’re great, but my dad might give you a tough time next time we see them.” Alex’s smile turns watery, fat tears rolling from her eyes. Kelley leans back from the younger girl, wiping lightly at her cheeks. Alex doesn’t have to say anything, Kelley knows the emotions. She knows that the tears are relief, that they’re happiness.

_96 Days Before_

After Alex meets her family, Kelley feels herself loosening her reigns on the whole 'taking things slow' idea. She can’t help it, the younger girl just has an effect on her. So when they walk into Kelley’s apartment after a date night, Kelley can’t help the way her body reacts to Alex nipping lightly on her neck.

“Al?” Kelley breaths out.

“Ok, sorry, I know I know, we’re taking things slow, I’ll stop.”

“Actually that’s not it, I was thinking maybe—” Kelley says trailing off, voice lilting with a suggestive tone.

Alex looks up at her in disbelief.

“I mean, if that’s what you want.” Kelley says as she takes in Alex’s expression. She bites her lip as she awaits Alex’s response.

“Yes, that’s definitely what I want.” Alex nods, her eyes becoming darker, and it spurs Kelley into action.

She grabs onto Alex’s hips, and pushes her backward towards her bedroom. She leads the taller girl into her room, turning and pinning her to the closed door. Kelley lets her hands settle on Alex’s hips, slipping her fingers through the belt loops on her jeans to pull her closer as she leans her bodyweight against her. Kelley leans up to kiss Alex hungrily. She trails her lips down her neck, landing at Alex’s collarbones and sucking lightly at the soft exposed skin. She brushes a fingertip over the bone, causing a shiver to run through Alex’s body. Kelley lets her other hand travel to the hem of Alex’s shirt and in the moment, she finds the fabric that separates them utterly annoying. Alex tilts Kelley’s head so that they kiss once again, tongues battling for dominance. She licks at the insides of Kelley’s mouth as she pushes the shorter girl off her and towards the bed.

They lay back on the mattress and find a comfortable position before they resume making out, their breaths each starting to quicken in pace. Alex moves her hand up Kelley’s torso, finally landing on her chest and massaging, earning her a groan of approval from the defender. Kelley slides her hand in between Alex’s legs, rubbing over Alex’s jeans, causing her to jump at the touch. They grind against each other, each wanting to increase the friction between their bodies.

Before they know it, they have stripped their outer clothing and they are both left in only their underwear and bras. Kelley drags her eyes slowly over Alex’s body, taking in the tight abs and toned, tanned skin. She thinks she hasn’t possibly seen anyone more beautiful. Alex is wearing grey Calvin Klein underwear, and Kelley is able to see wetness pooling through the fabric. The sight makes something churn low in her stomach, right between her legs, and she is more turned on than she thinks she's ever been. A low hum escapes her throat in approval.

Kelley places a hand between Alex’s legs, over the wet fabric, feeling the warmth emanating.

“Baby, you’re so fucking hot.” Kelley says, her voice much lower and much raspier than usual. She swirls slow circles with her fingers, teasing over the underwear, all while maintaining eye contact with Alex. She positions herself between Alex’s legs, keeping contact with her fingers pressed against Alex, she reaches behind her with one hand, and deftly unhooks her bra. She removes it, tossing it off the bed, and pinches one of Alex’s nipples between her fingers. Lightly, she then places her lips over the nipple, pulling it into her mouth with her teeth. She flicks her tongue at it, causing Alex's breath to hitch.

Kelley then moves her mouth, leaving a trail of kisses down Alex’s torso, finally arriving between her legs. She hovers there, before looking up to Alex for permission. The younger girl nods her head and in a low whine says, “Please Kelley.”

Kelley doesn’t need more direction than that, so she tugs at Alex’s underwear, sending it onto the floor to join the rest of their discarded clothing.

Kelley teases at Alex’s inner thighs with her lips and her tongue, coming dangerously close to her center and she can see that it is a sensitive spot for Alex. She breaths in the musky smell emitting from Alex and it is almost too much for her. Kelley decides not to tease her too much, it is their first time after all, so she doesn’t take much time before she moves on to place her mouth where Alex wants it.

She licks up and down, swirling around Alex’s clit and moving her tongue with expertise. She cups Alex’s ass, holding her against her face. After a minute, she sticks her finger in Alex’s mouth, letting her suck on it and getting it wet enough for entrance. She enters Alex with one finger, then another pumping in and out rhythmically. Alex rides on Kelley’s face, unable to control the way her hips are bucking upwards. Kelley moans into Alex, lips pressed tightly to her, sending a pleasant vibration onto the taller girl.

If Kelley is one things, it is good at sex and after only a few minutes, she has Alex panting out her name, legs shaking in climax. She removes her fingers, licking seductively at them, enjoying the taste of the other girl.

Once she calms down, Alex eagerly flips Kelley over. Despite her inexperience, Kelley is impressed with how willingly Alex takes instruction. She was right, she is a great listener, and an even quicker learner, and in just a little bit she has Kelley shaking in a stunning orgasm of her own.

\--

Long after they finish, Kelley lies there awake, happily recalling the events of the night in her head, and she thinks to herself that there is definitely no turning back now, she is surely falling for this girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have two ideas for the ending of this fic, a happy ending and a not so happy ending, so let me know your thoughts in the comments below!


	11. The Rule Breaker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is the final chapter, countdown to zero days and zero rules! So grateful for all the love on this fic and hope you all enjoy!

* * *

_55 Days Before_

As much as Kelley didn’t want to leave Alex, she had to head home to Atlanta for the summer. She had an incredible internship opportunity lined up working in environmental tech sales and she just couldn’t pass it up no matter how much she wanted to. Living at home with her parents rent free was also an alluring plus. But she knew she would miss Alex greatly over the summer. They’d only been dating for a little more than two months, but Kelley was seriously falling for this girl. They'd become more close than she could have imagined, sharing a bed more nights than not, intimately exploring each other’s hearts, and brains and bodies, learning things that no one else knew. But as tough as it was going to be spending the summer away from Alex, she was confident they would be able to handle the long distance.

Nonetheless, after finishing up her finals, and packing up most of her apartment, Kelley couldn’t help the tears that sprung to her eyes as she walked away from her girlfriend at the airport. Sure there was Facetime, and phone calls, and texting but nothing would compare to the feeling of Alex’s skin against her own, or the sweet smell of her hair, or the sleepy look in her eyes when she first wakes in the morning. The ache in her heart as she boards her plane is more poignant than she has felt in a long time and she wonders briefly if it is love before hastily shaking the thought from her head.

_15 Days Before_

“Al, you are going to kill me.” Kelley says once Alex answers her Facetime call.

“Why?” Alex says, crinkles forming in between her brows, and the look of concern almost makes Kelley retract her words. Yet she continues on, knowing that she has to tell Alex sooner or later.

“So, you know how I am supposed to come visit for your birthday?”

“Yes?” Alex says slowly, and by her tone, Kelley can tell that Alex is dreading whatever she has to say. Kelley herself is dreading it too. She wrings her hands together before rushing her words out.

“Well, I asked my boss for the day off and she said that she scheduled me to sit in on a huge meeting that day so I won’t be able to fly out until the next morning.”

Alex’s eyes turn steely.

“Kelley, I told you to ask off earlier because I wanted to spend my birthday with you. But no, you just waited until the last minute to do something like always.” Alex huffs.

“I know, I’m sorry, but this is my work, I need to take it seriously. It’s not that big of a deal, I’ll see you the next day anyway I promise.” Kelley turns defensive, she doesn’t like the accusing tone in Alex’s voice.

“Geez Kelley, my birthday may not be a ‘big deal’ to you, but it kind of is to me. Mostly because you got my hopes up.” Alex’s stares unwaveringly through the screen. “I just thought we would be together is all. I haven’t seen you in over a month.”

“Al, I know I want to see you so badly too, but my hands are kind of tied.”

“Yeah, well I’m obviously not going to ask you to choose me over your job, I just wish you had put some thought into this earlier like I suggested and maybe your boss wouldn’t have scheduled you.” Alex’s voice is all annoyance and harsh syllables.

An awkward silence pursues. Kelley feels guilty but what can she say, this is something that might guide her career in the future. She’s had a long and hard day, and having to deliver this news to Alex was definitely not something easy to do, and she just wishes that her girlfriend could be a bit more understanding. It’s not like she purposely set out to miss her birthday. So she says so, and she can’t help it if a bit of irritation of her own slips into her voice.

After a few minutes of crossed arms and continued prolonged stubborn silences, the two hang up.

After about twenty minutes of replaying the conversation in her head, Kelley shoots Alex a text that says she is sorry and that she promises to make it up to the younger girl. She marvels at how hard it is to be mad at her and she hates that she and Alex had their first big fight when she wasn’t physically with her to work it out. It’d be so much easier to make up if only they were in the same room, if Kelley could grab Alex’s hands into her own and talk her down with apologetic eyes. She decides that this long distance thing kind of sucks.

\--

It turns out that their first fight doesn’t last very long when a few hours later Alex calls Kelley to apologize and both girls admit they are sorry. Once peace is made, the phone call turns slightly more flirty and playful, then infinitely more dirty, ending in both girls panting into their phones and Alex calling out Kelley’s name in a low raspy tone, and Kelley concludes that sometimes this distance thing isn’t actually all that bad. 

_2 Days Before_

Although Kelley didn’t see herself as incredibly religious, she was thanking all the gods that might exist when her boss informed her that the big meeting she was set to attend was rescheduled. As soon as she was given the news she booked a red-eye to Los Angeles on the day of Alex’s birthday, contacted her girlfriend’s parents to see if it was alright if she surprised their daughter a day early, and packed her bags.

The whole plane ride she could barely sit still, and despite being tired from waking so early, she simply couldn’t fall asleep as excitement coursed through her body. Her seat mate on the plane gave her a questioning look as she fought and failed to suppress the smile on her face or control her anxiously bouncing knee, but she didn’t care. She was seeing Alex today. And that was all that mattered.

Kelley raced through baggage claim, eager to meet Alex’s sisters who had agreed to pick her up at the airport. Not only was she nervously awaiting her reunion with Alex, she also was re-meeting her family as her new love interest on top of that, only adding to her nerves. But when she meets Alex’s sisters, Jeri and Jen, who greet her with familiar bright smiles and warm hugs, she is set at ease.

Kelley delightedly takes in the range of emotions that pass over Alex’s face when she opens the door and finds her freckled girlfriend standing there. First surprise, then elation, and lastly suspicion.

“Happy birthday, Superstar.” Kelley says, a dopey smile on her face. Alex quickly wraps her in an embrace before hastily crashing their lips together. Behind them, Alex’s father clears his throat as he and Alex’s mom step into the foyer of their home to greet Kelley.

“You guys knew about this and didn’t tell me?” Alex asks incredulously, still holding tightly to Kelley by the waist.

“Yes dear, Kelley wanted to surprise you, what kind of parents would we be if we ruined it?” Alex’s mother answers a sly smile on her own face. Kelley notes that she and Alex share features, high cheekbones and gracefully arched brows.

Kelley spends the day with Alex exploring Diamond Bar, learning all of Alex’s favorite spots, and she loves every minute that she is introduced to a significant place in Alex’s childhood. They walked hand in hand down the streets of her hometown, and Kelley is reminded of their very first date, when Alex had shyly pulled her hand away from her. Now, Alex strode confidently with her fingers clasped tightly around Kelley’s. It made her heart warm in her chest, and she felt overwhelmed with happiness. The smile that had fought its way onto her face early in the morning didn’t leave her face for a second, butterflies fluttering through her chest at the chance to bewith Alex.

Later on, they go out to a nice dinner with the entire Morgan clan to celebrate Alex’s birthday. Alex’s father at first tried to give Kelley the third degree, pressing her on her future career and family aspirations and even kiddingly asking what her intentions were with Alex, to which Kelley responded with perfectly suitable answers that quickly pleased Mr. Morgan. Her southern manners immediately took over and she was all ‘ _ma’ams_ ’ and ‘ _sirs_ ’, with perfect dinner etiquette to match that seemed to charm the pants off of Alex’s parents. She got along easy with Alex’s sisters, even teaming up with Jeri to poke fun at the way Alex’s nose wiggled like a rabbit when she chewed.

After arriving back at the Morgan household, fully stuffed from dinner and dessert, Kelley and Alex resign to her room. Kelley looks around, taking in all the trophies and medals in the room as Alex turns on her portable speaker and puts on a soft indie playlist she and Kelley had made together over the summer.

“Always been quite the superstar.” Kelley muses, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips as her hands skim over an MVP trophy collecting dust on Alex’s bookshelf. The light in Alex’s room is low and warm, coming only from a lamp sitting on a bedside table.

She turns to face Alex, who is sitting on her bed blushing back at her.

“I have something for you.” Kelley reaches into her bag, pulling two identical slim black boxes out carefully. She takes a seat on the edge of the bed and hands one to Alex. “This one’s yours.” 

Alex opens the box, pulling out a dainty gold stacked necklace. On one strand, the letter A, and a light green gem on the other. Alex picks up the charms on the necklace holding them closer to her face. “The green one is Peridot.” Kelley says, reaching a hand behind her neck and rubbing shyly at the skin there. “it’s um, my birthstone.” She pauses before continuing, “I guess I kind’ve liked the idea of giving you a part of you and part of me.”

Alex looks up locking eyes with the shorter girl as a smile breaks out onto her face and her blue eyes become misty. She reaches toward her and pulls her into a hug.

“Kel, I love it.” She says, and it is muffled into Kelley’s hair. “Put it on for me?” She says turning and sweeping her hair away to expose the back of her neck. Kelley reaches around and delicately places the necklace, letting it hang just beneath Alex’s collarbones. When Alex pulls away, she gestures at the other box. “And that one is for you?” She questions. Kelley then opens the box, revealing an identically shaped necklace, only this one has a letter K and a ruby red gem placed on it. She holds it up for Alex to see.

“Your birthstone, Al. I wanted to get us something matching so that we can be reminded of each other when we are apart.”

Alex leans forward, capturing Kelley’s lips in a lengthy kiss. When she pulls back for air, Kelley can see that Alex’s eyes are dark, reflecting a murky grey that Kelley collects into her ever expanding mental notebook of the mystifying shades of Alex’s eyes.

She leans back in for another kiss before pushing Alex back into her pillows with a sly smirk on her face.

_1 Day Before_

Kelley and Alex spend the day in Los Angeles, first attending a midday Dodgers game (to which Kelley adamantly refuses to wear any supportive apparel, instead opting for her Braves hat).

Afterwards, they head West to Santa Monica pier, joining tourists and locals alike in lazily walking the boardwalk. They lick at ice cream cones and Kelley wins Alex a stuffed animal after a carny cajoles her into playing a game of ring toss.

At one point they head to the water, Alex stating that she loves jumping in the waves, so they stroll to the end of the beach and kick off their shoes before dipping their toes in the sea foam. Kelley watches Alex as she happily hops over the water coming at them, and she thinks to herself that she has never seen a more beautiful smile. Her tinkling laugh floods Kelley’s ears and she feels her heart brimming with affection. She wonders why her life all of a sudden feels like a Hallmark movie.

They head underneath the pier, and Kelley leans Alex against a tall pillar before stealing a kiss. She grabs lightly at the necklace she gifted Alex, pulling the blue eyed girl in for another steamy moment of locked lips. This day has been perfect. Alex is perfect.

“Alex—” Kelley starts, and she feels herself about to say it. About to say those three words she has guarded so closely for so long.

Yet she is interrupted by a wave crashing into her back, soaking her and Alex in salt water. They laugh at the unexpected bath and agree it is about time to head back to the car.

Kelley stays more quiet than usual, chickening out from what she was about to say. But Alex seems too happy to notice the change in her demeanor, she herself in her own head replaying the events of the day as she idly brushes her thumb over Kelley’s hand on the drive back.

_0 Days Before_

It is the 4th of July, and Kelley and Alex spend the day celebrating the holiday with Alex’s family and friends, first watching a local parade, then enjoying a backyard barbecue with the neighbors.

When they are finally able to sneak away from Alex’s family for some alone time, the sun is nearly setting. They head up onto the roof of Alex’s house with blankets, pillows, and snacks in tow.

“This is the best place in all of town to watch the firework show, I swear.” Alex says offering Kelley a hand and pulling her up onto the roof.

“I bet you told all your ex-lovers that too.” Kelley says cheekily. Alex puts her hands up in defense.

“Ok you caught me, you may not be the first to come up here with me, but you are definitely by far the most special.” Alex says a twinkle in her eye causing Kelley to blush.

They situate the blankets and pillows into a makeshift bed, and lay down chatting before they see the first firework of the night jet across the sky, exploding in a red bang. More bursts follow quickly after.

Kelley grabs Alex’s hand into her own as they watch sky light up. “I guess this is technically our one year anniversary of when we met.”

“Oh yeah, I guess so.” Alex says thoughtfully.

“Remember how much you hated me?” Kelley laughs openly and Alex joins her.

“Yeah, now it is kind of the exact opposite.” Alex says bravely. And Kelley pauses, taking in Alex’s words and their meaning. She looks into her eyes, so very blue, so very soft. Even in the low light, she can see the fireworks illuminating brilliantly back at her.

Her pulse races and she smiles softly at Alex reveling in the perfect moment, and she knows that she wants this. Wants Alex. Wants this with Alex, today and tomorrow and the day after that. She wants this next week and next year, and possibly forever. Her heart feels on the verge of overflowing.

“I love you, Al.” Kelley whispers.

Alex grins radiantly back at Kelley.

“I love you too.”

And with that, Kelly has officially broken all her rules.

_~~Rule #4: Never say I love you~~ _

_1 Day After_

Kelley awakes to a crick in her neck, and an arm awkwardly cramped underneath Alex’s warm body. Even so, she awakes feeling light and cheery. Alex turns her sleepy eyes up to meet Kelley’s and it is that look she adores so much, that tired and dopey grin, those beautiful squinted eyes, gleaming bright blue in the morning sun. Kelley realizes that she has officially broken all her rules and even so she might just be the happiest girl in the world.


End file.
